The Azure Knight
by KingWykkyd57
Summary: Forged to destroy the Grimm, the blade was instead wielded against mankind, sealing its fate as a harbinger of destruction. Now, after decades of laying dormant, the cursed sword has chosen a new host: a knight seeking revenge against the one who killed his love. With the cursed blade in hand, this new "Azure Knight" will bring Remnant to its knees... (Soul Calibur crossover-ish)
1. Chapter 1

**I've been wanting to write this for awhile, actually. Yep, a RWBY x Soul Calibur crossover...ish. This may annoy or anger some fans of Soul Caliber, but... A lot of lore from that series won't be present in this story. A lot will be changed to fit into RWBY's own lore, so that whether or not someone is a big fan of SC or not it won't matter...hopefully. Anyway, no need to waste your time with a silly author's note, enjoy the story!**

 **...**

 _"Do you recall the fairy tale about the sword that stole the souls of anyone who dared cross it, Ozpin? I don't believe it was ever a popular story, a tale as dark and violent as it was would naturally scare any child. They say that the sword was first forged during the dawn of the Grimm, a weapon great enough to combat the ever growing threat. But as Grimm after Grimm fell before it, something changed inside its chosen wielder. The tales say he went mad with power, believing himself to be unstoppable. The legend says that he turned on his fellow man, wiping out anyone who dared cross his way. Fitting, if you ask me, Ozpin. The man's semblance was a unique one, a semblance that allowed him to steal the auras, the souls, of others."_

 _"Ah, yes... I recall that tale quite well, Salem. It's quite tragic, isn't it? They say that eventually the sword developed a 'soul' of its own, having stripped away so many souls of others. When the wielder eventually died, the sword was found by another warrior, one with a similar semblance, and the same fate fell upon him. He went mad, and used the cursed blade to wreak havoc on the world. He too died, and the sword was lost once more."_

 _"It was used for the third and final time during the great war, Ozpin. By that time, the sword was so powerful its wielder was able to destroy entire armies all by himself. No one knew who this wielder was, but the legends say he was an evil worse than all the Grimm in Remnant. Most knew him as the 'Azure Knight', a name that struck fear in the bravest of humanity."_

 _"Yes, but the wielder eventually met the same fate as those before, he died and the sword remains lost to this day. The blade was shattered at the end of the war and its pieces were scattered, in hopes that no one would ever be able to wield it again. If you are implying you know the location of this sword and have plans for it, just come on out and say it."_

 _"I do not know its location myself, Ozpin. You do not find the sword, the sword finds you. It will be seeking out its next host, and when it does all of Remnant will burn once more. It's power will be too great, your children won't be able to stop it. They will fall, and you will fail."_

 _"We shall see about that, Salem."_

 _"Ozpin, do you remember the name of the sword?"_

 _"..."_

 _..._

Jaune could not sleep, nor did he want to. He laid flat on his sleeping bag, his tired eyes gazing up at the beautiful starry night sky. The campfire a few feet away crackled and popped, the light snores of his friends barely rising above the volume of the flames. Jaune sighed through his nose and closed his eyes in another futile attempt at rest, his lips turning to a frown.

Pyrrha.

She never left his mind, not once. The pain of losing her...it was too much. She was the first to believe in him, the first to make him feel like he was actually a hero, and not some stupid kid chasing an impossible dream. It was thanks to her that he got to make friends with his other two teammates, and that he had gotten as far as he had.

She was his mentor, his best friend, his...

His first taste at real love.

But...but then... Jaune opened his eyes and stared again at the millions of stars, tears beginning to take form. 'Why?' he thought. 'Why couldn't I save her?'

If only he had done better keeping watch, if only he had realized Cinder was in the vault with them. He could've fought her, he could've _protected_ Pyrrha, stop this whole mess from even happening! They could've stopped Cinder, saved Beacon! They could've had a relationship, they could have graduated from Beacon and go on all kinds of adventures together, maybe they could've stared a family eventually...

He shook his head. 'But no,' he reminded himself bitterly. 'In the end, I couldn't do anything. I was powerless, I couldn't do anything for her or my friends.'

He had to rely on Weiss and Ruby to save her, while he stood still without any purpose. And even then, they were too late. He didn't even know how it happened! Ruby refused to tell them how Pyrrha died, she thought it would only make things worse. Nora and Ren had accepted this, but Jaune was still reluctant. He had to know, he _had_ to. He needed to avenge Pyrrha...

Revenge. It was an ugly word, one Jaune didn't like using. But it was the only one he could use. He knew Cinder was still out there somewhere, with the powers of the fall maiden, biding her time for...something! He knew a maiden of such power wouldn't simply die at the hands of whatever deus ex machina stunt Ruby had pulled, but it was apparently powerful enough to cause her to retreat.

Jaune wished he had a power like that, something that could've put a stop to all that had happened. He knew what he wanted to be, he wanted to be a hero. A hero like his father, and his father, and his father before him. And for a short time he believed that he was. Starting out as some wimpy kid who didn't know the first thing about aura, he had evolved into a leader, able to lead his team effortlessly and even hold his own in battle. But when Pyrrha had shoved him inside that locker, forced him to run from battle, all those dreams came crashing down.

He was right back to square one.

Jaune sat up and groaned as his back popped. He stretched and decided he wasn't going to get any sleep that night. Standing up, he noticed Ruby was also up, her back turned to him as she hugged Crescent Rose closely, humming a soft tune to herself. The girl was on watch, having taken the last shift. Jaune walked over to her, tapping her on the shoulder. The girl gave a startled yelp and jumped out of her seat a little, only calming down when she realized it was the knight that had walked up on her.

"Hey, Jaune," she greeted, her face slightly red from embarrassment.

"Hey, Ruby," the blonde returned, pointing towards the woods. "I can't sleep, I'm going to go for a quick walk." Not waiting for a response he began walking away, but stopped when Ruby's small hand grabbed his larger one.

"Jaune, if a walk helps then go for it," she said, her face growing serious. "But you aren't alone. We can't replace her, but we're always here for you." She gave him a sad smile. "If there's something wrong you can always talk to us."

Jaune nodded and smiled back. "Thank you," he said. "But I'm fine, there's only a few things I gotta walk off." He slowly removed his hand from hers and ruffled her hair affectionately. "I'll be back in a few minutes, a half hour at the most."

Ruby nodded as well. "Sounds good." She glanced up towards the sky. "It's a beautiful night tonight," she noted to no one in particular. Jaune hummed in agreement, before setting off towards the trees, eventually vanishing from sight.

He was thankful that so many stars were out tonight, even through the thick leaves and branches they were still bright enough to allow him sight. He shoved his hands in his pockets and focused his eyes forward, paying no attention to the scenery. All he wanted was some proper alone time with his thoughts.

It was only a few minutes later that he heard a twig snap behind him, causing the boy to freeze. He listened closely, eyes darting around to find something that could've been the source. He began to sweat a bit, but he tried to force himself to calm down. 'It was probably nothing,' he told himself. 'Just a wild forest critter, that's all.'

Taking in this false sense of comfort, he cautiously took a step forward. Then another one, and then another. Finally, having taken three steps without dying, Jaune allowed himself to believe he was safe, and continued on his not-so-merry way. However, five steps into his walk he heard another twig snap. Freezing again, his hand reached for Crocea Mors, but another wave of fear washed over him when his hand simply grasped thin air. He had left it by his sleeping bag.

'Jaune, you flipping idiot!' he scolded himself. 'Why didn't you let Ruby stop you or something?' He reached for his scroll, but it was missing from his pockets. Apparently he had forgotten _that_ too. "You've got to be kidding me," he hissed under his breath. Great, now he was stuck out here with whatever it was that was following him. But what was it? Another twig snapped, and he heard something behind him rustle. Jaune whipped around, but saw nothing.

Oh God... Jaune paled as a realization crossed his mind. What if it was a _Grimm?_ Jaune liked to believe he had _some_ confidence in his abilities, but there was no way he could tackle a Grimm without his weapons or backup. Then he heard more rustling, and Jaune turned his head to see the bushes across from him shaking rapidly. Gulping, the blonde began to back away, preparing to run away if he had to. He _could_ run back to camp, he reasoned. Ruby would be awake, she could take care of it.

Wait...

Which way was camp again?

Jaune cursed, mentally crowning himself as the king of bad luck. The shaking continued, and his eyes searched for an opening of escape. He figured that he could outrun an ursa, but a beowolf he stood little chance against without a solid plan.

He was brought back to the shaking bush when something emerged from its dark depths...

A bunny.

It stared at the knight for a moment, who stared back in equal amounts of embarrassment and relief. It was just a _bunny._ Jaune laughed a little, smacking himself for getting so worked up over such a harmless, adorable little-

Suddenly a beowolf leaped out of the bushes, shredding the innocent forest animal to red ribbons with its teeth and claws.

Oh. Of course.

The beowolf then turned its head towards the defenseless boy, its bloodstained teeth grinning evilly at him, realizing it had found its main course. Jaune gulped as the monster stalked closer towards him, soft growls coming from its throat. The blonde backed away, his breath quickening its pace and his heart thumping wildly against his ribs. He had to get away somehow, being devoured by a Grimm wasn't very high on his to-do list.

Then, an idea struck him. His eyes widened as he pointed towards the bushes behind the beowolf. "Whoa, what's that?!" he exclaimed, and to his surprise the beowolf _actually turned around._ Not wanting to waste his opportunity, he sprinted away as fast as his legs could carry him, still dumbfounded that his half-assed plan actually worked.

The Grimm was quick to notice its mistake, and it let out an angry roar as it gave chase. It turned to face the shattered the moon, and it gave a long howl. This caused more worry to pass through Jaune, as everyone knew...

Wherever there was one beowolf, there was a whole pack of them. And just as that thought entered his brain, numerous howls quickly followed the first, and soon Jaune heard the entire pack rush towards him, their growls and pants filling his ears.

'I'm screwed!' he realized. 'I'm completely screwed! Way to go, Jaune! You just _had_ to forget your gear, didn't you?'

He didn't know how far he ran, he just knew that the beowolves were right on his tail and his legs were _screaming_ for mercy. But Jaune knew he couldn't slow down. Slowing down meant a VERY painful death at the hands of an entire beowolf pack, and that was the last thing he wanted.

 _"This way."_

Jaune nearly faltered as he heard someone else speak, but thankfully he managed to keep moving. If there was something that could help him, who was he to argue considering his current situation?

 _"Follow my voice."_

There it was again. That strange voice that seemed to be leading him... 'Left!' Jaune commanded himself, and he made a sharp turn, the Grimm pack skidding behind him. Jaune silently thanked whatever it was that was leading him, as he noticed a small opening between a few boulders, creating a small cave too small for any beowolf to squeeze in. Sucking in his gut, he gave himself one last desperate burst of speed, and dived inside the opening. He felt a beowolf's claws scrape against the soles of his shoes, before it gave a snarl of frustration as its prey vanished.

'Now I gotta hope Ruby and the others find me,' Jaune thought. 'Surely they heard all of the howls, they'll be here any minute.'

 _"Assuming you last that long."_

Jaune yelped and turned around, but his eyes saw nothing except... "A sword?" he muttered, curious eyes looking the weapon up and down. It appeared to be an ordinary broad sword, except some parts of the blade seemed to be missing. And attached to the top of the blade, as well as the hilt, was... Jaune nearly threw up. "I-Is that..." He paused to look it over more, just to be sure. "...flesh?" he finished.

Then, as if to prove that the sword could be even more bizarre, a freaking _eye_ appeared on the hilt! Jaune gave a startled cry and pressed himself against the stone walls, his eyes wide with fright.

 _"You'll be dead before they arrive."_

It was the _sword_ that was speaking, Jaune realized in horror. By some sort of miracle, the frightened boy found his voice. "W-What?" he breathed.

The eye shifted away from him and towards the top of the makeshift cave. _"Look up."_ it said.

Jaune fearfully obeyed, and when he looked up he saw that the beowolves were attempting to pull the boulders away from each other, thus leaving Jaune right out in the open.

 _"This cave won't hold much longer. You'll die before your friends arrive."_

"Oh God..." Jaune whimpered. "What am I going to do?"

 _"Wield me."_ the sword suggested.

Jaune glanced down in surprise. "Huh?"

 _"Wield me, and you can make it out of this alive."_

The beowolves were beginning to pull the cave apart, their howls singing of victory as they kept pulling. Jaune gulped, and shifted his eyes between them, and the sword. "A-Are you sure?" he asked, not even bothering to wonder why he was talking to a weapon. "I'm not sure using a talking sword with an eye is the best idea."

The eye of the sword simply stared at Jaune, and he could've sworn he saw a flicker of annoyance emerge from it. _"I can help you."_ it explained. _"You want revenge, don't you? I can feel it in your soul."_

Jaune froze. "Revenge?" he repeated.

 _"Against the woman who stole your love's life,"_ the sword continued. _"She is powerful, and you are not. But with me in your hands, you will defeat her. Think about your love, Jaune Arc."_

Pyrrha... She was killed at the hands of Cinder, and now this...thing was giving him the chance to defeat her... He slowly approached the sword on his hands and knees, staring right at its eye. "You...you can help me?" he asked.

The eye blinked. _"Of course."_

Jaune bit his lip, still hesitant. But right then, the cave broke, and the beowolves howled in victory. Realizing he didn't have much of a choice at this point, Jaune nodded in agreement and grabbed the sword by its handle. With a battle cry, he swung the blade around, and the beowolf behind him was effortlessly cleaved in two. The beowolves looked just as surprised as Jaune was, and they began circling him carefully, not wanting to make sudden movements.

Jaune glanced down at his newly equiped sword, and shivered slightly as the eye continued to stare at him. Jaune gulped, and asked, "What are you, really?"

Suddenly a beowolf lunged at blinding speed, but Jaune felt himself sidestep it easily and decapitate it with a swift strike. Or rather, he felt the _sword_ decapitate the Grimm. Jaune honestly felt like he wasn't doing anything at all, it was as if the sword had a life of its own. Which he guess would explain why it could talk, and why it had a freaking eye.

The eye of the blade turned to gaze at its wielder, and the knight could have sworn he heard a dark chuckle coming from the weapon.

...

 _"The name was given to it by the second wielder, a name he thought was fitting for a soul-stealing weapon. He called it... Soul Edge."_

 _..._

 **And that's the first chapter, everyone! I hope you enjoyed it :D**

 **And man, I think I have a really bad habit (or some twisted kink) for screwing over Jaune, all you gotta do is take a look at my other RWBY story to figure that one out. Which reminds me! For those who are currently following my story "Angel in Disguise", the next chapter should be up sometime this week. I haven't had much time to work on it since school is starting and such, but I'll get to it soon!**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd! ;D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, everyone! I'm really glad that the first chapter got so much positive reception, and apparently people have been thinking about Jaune as Nightmare for quite some time now... And yes, for those who possibly haven't caught on yet, this is a Jaune Arc becomes Nightmare story. After all, why not? Everyone likes Jaune, and everyone rekts with Nightmare!**

 **(Seriously there isn't a single Soul Calibur player alive who hasn't experienced the might of Nightmare. Especially SC2 Nightmare I mean goddamn son, get on his level!)**

 **And I heavily apologize for taking so long to post this! It was originally meant to be posted like five days ago, but then... Stuff happened :P Then I tried posting it yesterday, but something came up... But now that I have some free time, things might actually go the way I want them to for once XD**

 **But enough of that, on with the chapter!**

 **...**

Jaune was never the same after Pyrrha's death.

Granted, no one was the same, they had all lost someone dear to them at the hands of a mad woman. But Jaune... He lost his true love. Ruby frowned as she watched the blonde depart for his walk. She couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for the boy, to lose someone that important to you. Sure, her mother had died when she was younger, but Ruby had still been too young to fully understand it.

Ever since Pyrrha's death, Jaune was no longer the goofy, lovable, awkward dork he had been during their time at Beacon. He became more withdrawn, and he never bothered holding a conversation unless he had to. He had a constant blank look in his eyes, like everything had just vanished. He had dark circles under his eyes from all his sleepless nights, and he sometimes he even avoided his teammates like the plague.

Ruby wondered if she would've been like that had someone like Yang had died.

Yang... Ruby's frown somehow grew bigger at the thought of her older sister. When the brawler had lost her right arm trying to protect Blake, her attitude became similar to Jaune's. She no longer cracked any horrible puns or felt the weird urge to leap straight into the first sign of danger. She simply sat in her bed staring out the window, her only spoken words bitter and tearful. Her older sister missed Blake, their mysterious faunus teammate who disappeared right after the battle of Beacon.

Ruby was thankful for Ren and Nora. Although she was never as close to them as she was to the others, they had immediately agreed to follow her to Mistral, which was where Qrow had claimed that the enemy was possibly hiding at. Without the stoic ninja and the happy-go-lucky viking, Ruby doubted she and Jaune would've been able to make the journey. She envied Ren and Nora sometimes. Through thick and thin, they still had each other. The two were undeniably close, and the former leader of Team RWBY wished she could have a friend to be as close to.

Suddenly, a single howl broke through the silence, cutting off Ruby's thoughts. Glancing up, her eyes and ears scanned the surrounding forest area. Then, she heard more and more howls, signalling that whatever had made the noise was not alone. At first, Ruby suspected wolves, but scratched out that option almost immediately. Wolves were rare in Remnant, and the best chance of seeing them was up in Atlas' mountains, not one of Vale's forests. But, that only left one other option...

Ruby's silver eyes widened as she leaped to her feet, staring at the forest in horror. "Jaune..." she whispered, her head then whipping around towards his sleeping bag. Her blood ran ice cold when she saw Crocea Mors laying besides the knight's sleeping bag. "No..." she gasped. No, no, no! Ruby wanted to slap herself for not stopping Jaune when she had the chance. Now thanks to their combined stupidity, her friend was out in a beowolf infested forest with absolutely no means of defending himself.

Ruby ran towards Ren's sleeping form, roughly shaking him awake. The groggy ninja groaned as he sat up, asking Ruby what she wanted. "Jaune's missing!" Ruby explained frantically. "And I just heard a huge pack of beowolves in the forest, and he doesn't have his weapon!"

"WHAT?!" screeched Nora from behind the two, startling them. "JAUNE-JAUNE IS IN DANGER?!" Immediately she grabbed her hammer, Magnhild, and yanked Ren to his feet. "C'mon, Ren, we gotta go save him!" Although still drop-dead tired, Ren still nodded determinedly, Stormflower appearing from his sleeves.

The two nodded at Ruby, who had Crescent Rose in its scythe form. The silver eyed girl nodded back to them, before her eyes wandered back to Crocea Mors. Biting her lip, she picked up the sword/sheath combo and hid it in her cloak. Giving it a firm pat, she signaled for Ren and Nora to follow her, and the three sped off as fast as they could.

However, they failed to notice the shadowed figure watching them from a tree just above their campsite. The figure watched them run off into the woods, and without any hesitation it leaped through the trees after them. 'I won't interfere,' it told itself. 'I won't do battle unless I absolutely have to, they can take care of themselves.'

But even with those words, the figure had an uncomfortable feeling in its gut that it would have to finally reveal itself to Team RNJR and join tonight's battle.

...

Soul Edge, as the sword has called itself, felt surprisingly light in Jaune's hands despite its massive size. A surge of confidence filled the boy's chest, and he held up the flesh covered blade in a defensive position, waiting for the beowolves to make the first move. The pack of Grimm circled him carefully, having just witnessed their prey effortlessly kill two of their own already. Finally, three of the larger ones gave loud roars, charging at the knight with their claws raised.

Jaune ducked out of their way, and with a grunt he cleaved the sword straight through one of them. Wasting little time, the entire pack joined the fray and lunged. The first two beowolves lashed out with deadly jaws, forcing Jaune to jump back to avoid being bitten in half. Soul Edge seemed to have other plans, however, as immediately afterwards it seemed to force the boy forward, back into the battle.

A set of claws slashed past the knight, but the sword caught the blow, and Jaune used the momentum to send the creature flying. It landed against a tree, its spine snapping with a sickening crack. Once more, the beowolves seemed to hesitate, but all second thoughts were thrown out the window as they all charged as one.

 _"Prepare yourself."_ the sword hissed, its hideous eye narrowing. Jaune nodded in response, a new burst of energy surging through him. Jaune couldn't help but grin, and he charged towards the hoard fearlessly.

His blade met the claws of the pack's leader, and the two bounced off of each other, with Jaune spinning the disturbing weapon through a beowolf behind him. He then rushed towards another before it could make a single move, brutally carving it apart. Another creature of Grimm attempted to ambush him from behind, but to its surprised the young knight caught its arm without turning around. With a roar, Jaune threw the beowolf over his shoulder before pinning it to the ground with his new sword.

'How did I do that?' he wondered as he pulled Soul Edge from the carcass, and he quickly ducked under another set of claws, bringing the blade upward to sever the arm from a now squealing beowolf.

 _"We share a power now,"_ Soul Edge's voice explained, suddenly forcing itself to decapitate two other Grimm. _"The heart and soul of my previous wielders burns within you now! You are unstoppable, Jaune Arc! Now, finish every last one of them!"_

The alpha beowolf signaled for its underlings to charge once more, hoping to overpower their prey. The beowolves let out a collective howl, and charged at the hunter once again. Jaune shifted his stance and held Soul Edge in an offensive position, before he let out a fierce battle cry and charged as well. He raised the cursed blade high above his head, before bringing it crashing through the skull of the first beowolf. He immediately yanked it out and swung it upward, catching another by its chin. Not waiting for it to recover, Jaune ducked down low and slashed the monster's legs off with a single stroke.

He turned around, narrowly deflecting the blow of the alpha, who had joined the fray. With a surprisingly delicate slash, the alpha's hand fell to the ground, and it gave a pained roar as it retreated. The others hesitated after seeing their pack leader injured, and that hesitation would cost them their lives.

Jaune wasted no time. He weaved his way through the remainder of the pack, cutting them into ribbons at nearly blinding speeds. He felt an unknown energy course through him, strengthening his muscles and sharpening his mind and instinct. No longer was he the meek hunter in training from Beacon, he was a whole new force entirely!

'More!' he thought, his mind growing darker. 'I need more!' A beowolf on his left fell to the ground in three pieces. 'With this power, I can avenge Pyrrha!' His hand reached out a crushed the throat of another. 'Cinder will die at my hand!' He grinned as a beowolf's black blood splashed onto him. 'I will be the hero I've always dreamed of becoming!'

"DIE, ALL OF YOU!" he shouted from the top of his lungs, swinging Soul Edge in a frenzy, madly falling in love with the feeling of the pack's blood showering him.

'I will avenge you, Pyrrha. No... With this power, I can bring you back here! Then we can be together, then we can-'

"AUGHGH!" he screeched in pain as he felt something rip and tear. For a moment, he thought a beowolf had finally landed a deadly blow, but as the pain grew, he momentarily stopped his massacre to inspect whatever had caused him to scream.

He then wished he didn't look, because what he saw was something out of a horror story.

His right arm was no longer there. Instead, it had transformed into a freakishly large, three-fingered claw. It was reddish brown in color, and was made of material looking like a cross between monstrous flesh and rusting metal. His eyes widened as he saw the skin of it spread along the rest of his arm, and soon the limb was entirely that of a monster's.

"What's happening to me?!" he cried, panicking as he tried to tear off the new skin. He heard the voice of Soul Edge chuckle evilly.

 _"I have long awaited a new wielder, Jaune Arc."_ its voiced echoed. _"More specifically, I've been waiting for you."_

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Jaune hissed in fear, his vision beginning to go red. 'Something's happening...' his mind whispered. 'I...I'm somehow losing control...'

 _"The bloodline of the Arc family had long been there to stop my previous hosts,"_ the sword growled. _"But now, I have one under my control. Now that you wield me, nothing will stop me from consuming this cursed world!"_

"No!" the knight managed to protest. "I won't wield you!" He tried to toss the sword away, but his hand would not let go of it.

 _"You cannot be rid of me, Jaune Arc,"_ Soul Edge taunted. _"The moment you first grasped my handle, you were already mine."_

"NO!" Jaune yelled, before his vision faded completely away into nothing but red.

...

"NO!"

The three remaining members of Team RNJR shot their heads up as they heard Jaune's cry. They glanced at each other, eyes wide in fear. "Did you guys know where that came from?" Ruby frantically asked. Nora shook her head, tears threatening to spill out as the thought of losing another member of Team JNPR crossed her mind.

Ren, however, barely managed to keep his cool. "West, I think," he said, pointing to their right. Ruby nodded.

"Then let's go!" She raced off towards the direction Ren had pointed, the others surprisingly able to keep up with her. "WE'RE COMING JAUNE!"

The figure above them leaped through the trees, keeping a close eye on the three. 'Can we really make it on time?' it wondered, a frown forming. 'Jaune, hang on.'

It continued to follow the the three hunters below as Ruby brought out Crescent Rose, using the trigger to launch herself forward. Nora also brought out her weapon, preparing to absolutely destroy anything that caused harm to her leader. Stormflower flashed from Ren's sleeves, blades gleaming with the intent to kill. Meanwhile, the figure in the trees unsheathed its own weapon, the single blade shining under the moonlight. It slid between branches, keeping pace with Ruby, who had just activated her semblance.

Suddenly, the figure noticed the treeline temporarily end with a small clearing, and it stopped at the border. The other three below stopped as well, and all four shockingly took in the scene before them.

Blood. Blood _everywhere._ The source of it came from the scattered corpses of beowolves that littered the entire clearing. It was enough to make all four want to throw up as they saw entrails and other body parts cover the area. And in the middle of this gruesome scenery stood a figure neither of them recognized.

It wore full body armor that was a haunting shade of blue, with jagged areas jutting out to give it a demonic appearance. It's back was turned to them, hiding its helmeted face from view. The helmet had what resembled a bat wing on each side. Forming from the helmet was a red ponytail, which gently swayed in the breeze. What was horrifying was its right arm. Reddish brown in color and hulking compared to the rest of the body, it had two bony spikes jutting from the shoulder and three more from the elbow. It had three, metallic claws on its hand, which clenched open and closed over and over.

Then there was its weapon. A huge broad sword that looked like it could perfectly slice a Goliath in two. However, it seemed broken in some places, but it still seemed usable. The four backed away slightly when they saw the red flesh that covered the top of the blade, with veins that were visibly pulsing. An eerie and malevolent looking eye was at the middle, and it stared at them, unblinking.

The eye then glanced at the knight, who slowly turned around to face the group. Through his helmet, his eyes burned coal red.

No one spoke for a few moments, until Ruby cautiously stepped forward, Crescent Rose in its scythe form. "W-Who are you...?" she asked, her voice coming across as a squeak. She winced as the knight chuckled at her fear, and she cleared her throat before continuing. "And where's Jaune?" she finished, her voice a bit braver than before.

The knight cackled, sounding empty and hollow. "I am called Nightmare," he introduced. "And Jaune Arc... Is no more."

"WHAT?!" Nora shrieked in disbelief, all fear being thrown out the window. She brought out Magnhild in its hammer form, and charged straight at the knight. She swung her hammer with all her might, but to her shock it was lazily and easily deflected by the villain's sword. She then felt his claw grasp her and lift her up off the ground. He squeezed, causing Nora to lose her breath. She gasped for air, her face turning purple and her ribs splintering under 'Nightmare's' grip.

The knight laughed darkly as he watched Nora struggle. "And soon, neither will you," he said.

"NORA!" Ren cried as he watched his childhood friend get slowly crushed. He dashed towards the viking's attacker, firing numerous dust bullets at him. Nightmare seemed to only think of this as a minor annoyance, and before Ren could make another move, he swung his cursed blade. The broad side of the weapon caught the ninja's body, causing him to fly away and crash through a tree.

Ruby then used her semblance to try to catch Nightmare off guard, and surprisingly it worked. Nightmare grunted as Crescent Rose caught his shoulder, forcing him to release Nora. Ruby continued her assault, catching Nightmare in numerous, lightning fast blows. Unfortunately, these seemed to do nothing more but scratch his armor, and he lashed out with a devastating kick that connected with the girl's gut. Ruby flew back but caught her balance, and she began firing dust round after dust round at Nightmare, who blocked them all with ease.

Ruby let out a roar as she charged once more, ducking in time under a sword swing and hooking his monstrous arm with her scythe. She then pulled the trigger and slashed at the same time, a trick that worked countless times for dismembering foes. However, to her surprise, the knight's arm did not separate from his body, but it did cause him pain. Nightmare hissed and whipped around, countering Ruby with an uppercut that sent her high into the sky.

As she fell back down, Nightmare swung his sword with the intent of slicing his opponent clean in half. Luckily for Ruby, she reacted fast enough to block the would be fatal blow with Crescent Rose, but the force behind the attack still sent her away. She landed painfully against a boulder, a landing that would've shattered her spine if not thanks to her aura.

She shakily rose to her feet as Nightmare stalked towards her. "You were a fool to face me," he hissed. "You will be the first of many to tremble at my darkness!" He raised his sword up high, but before he could do anything a gunshot sounded from the trees.

Ruby glanced up in time to see a bladed pistol attached to the end of black ribbon connect with Nightmare's helmet, causing him to stagger back. Nightmare found his footing, and glared at the trees as the one who interrupted his kill emerged from the shadows. Ruby's eyes widened slightly, and a feeling of hope and joy rushed through her.

"Blake..." she breathed.

...

 **Second chapter done! So what did you think? :D Did you like it? Hate it? Let me know! And yes, Jaune-Nightmare has the same appearance as Nightmare from Soul Calibur 2 because I wasn't kidding when I said that one was the best XD That, and I like the more human look in that entry than the more demonic ones from later games.**

 **And Blake is here too 0.0 Will she be enough to turn the battle in RNR's favor?**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Third chapter, woohoo! Thanks to all of you who left such positive reviews, it made me want to write and post this chapter almost immediately! So... Here it is. A lot of you also seemed to have some sort of predictions/ideas for the direction of this story, and let's just say some of you aren't too far from the truth ;)**

 **Also I feel like I should admit that I kind of lied to you guys. There is gonna be another Soul Calibur character other than Nightmare, but they won't appear til later, so no need to worry about it now. I'll give you a hint, and you can guess in the reviews or something: He is one of the few characters to appear in every single game, starting from Soul Edge all the way to Soul Calibur 5.**

 **Have fun, kiddies!**

 **...**

 _"You were a fool, Ozpin. You truly believed that your children, your smaller, more honest souls, could actually save the world. But already one of them has fallen. The legend of Soul Edge has many chapters, Ozpin, and the boy has just written a new one."_

 _"..."_

 _"The last time the wielder was ever seen was during the Great War, where his reign of terror ended in an epic battle of myth and legend."_

 _"Yes, I recall. If memory serves me correctly, the one that killed him was Sir Nicholas Arc, also known as the hero of Crocea Mors."_

 _"Correct. The Arc family has existed for generations, dating back to the earliest days of humanity. Little know about this part of Soul Edge's story, but every defeat its wielders suffered was at the hands of someone from the Arc family. One of them even attended your school, did he not?"_

 _"Correct."_

 _"Was he one of those smaller, more honest souls, Ozpin? Because if he was, then your plan has already failed. Soul Edge has just claimed a new host, and it just so happens to be the Arc boy. I'm sure you understand now, Ozpin... With an Arc wielding the might of Soul Edge, Remnant has no hopes of survival."_

 _"You'd be surprised, Salem. I am still confident that my students have the skills to stop Nightmare. As for Mr. Arc, I have faith that maybe he too can still bring peace to this world."_

 _"We shall see, Ozpin. We shall see."_

 _..._

Ruby may have been fast. Her semblance could launch her at speeds that would outpace a god. But there was one flaw she had when it came to her usage of her super speed. She was horribly predictable. With a well timed move, any opponent could easily turn the tables on her, leaving her open for severe punishment.

Blake Belladonna may have not been as fast as Ruby, but she still held the advantage of being completely unpredictable in combat. With her clones, an opponent could find themselves locked helpless in a corner as she slowly chipped away at their aura.

And because of this, Nightmare was having trouble landing a hit on the faunus girl.

He growled in frustration as he swung Soul Edge at the girl, only for it to harmlessly slice through a shadow she had left behind. Meanwhile, Blake's Gambol Shroud made another scratch on his armor as she leaped between the hulking knight. Nightmare attempted to catch her in his giant claw, but once again all he managed to hit was a clone. Blake then ducked under a mighty swing, shifting Gambol Shroud into its gun form and firing at Nightmare's helmet. Nightmare shook off the distraction, thrusting his blade forward in another attempt to kill the wretched girl.

Blake jumped out of the way, landing gracefully on top of Soul Edge itself. Thinking quickly, she stabbed her sword into the eye of the cursed blade, wincing as a blood curling shriek sounded in her head. Nightmare took advantage of the momentary hesitation, and he grabbed the girl and slammed her into the ground. The force took a large number out of Blake's aura, and she was forced to leave behind another shadow clone to escape.

Ruby, who had been watching the fight progress, now rushed into the battle. She swiped low with her scythe, tripping the hulking knight. Nightmare landed shamefully on his rear, but quickly recovered and sent another sword swing at the young girl. His attack came short as Gambol Shroud's ribbon wrapped around his wrist. It tightened, cancelling out Soul Edge's momentum. Blake then rushed back into battle to rejoin Ruby, and the two wasted little time going on the offensive.

Nightmare growled in anger as he was forced to block all of their blows. This wasn't what was supposed to happen! How could two puny mortals cause him this much trouble?!

 _"You've only just began your reign as my wielder,"_ Soul Edge's slightly pained voice explained. _"You need experience. Thankfully, I know just how you can get stronger."_

 _"Then show me,"_ Nightmare responded as he delivered a swift punch to Ruby's gut.

Ruby went flying back, landing on her side painfully. Nightmare charged, swinging his sword downward in hopes of cutting her into two. Right as he was about to confirm the kill, Blake had once again rushed to her teammate's aide, grabbing her and rolling them both away from harm. The faunus helped Ruby to her feet, and both of them readied themselves once more.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Blake asked her leader, a smirk forming.

Ruby chuckled and nodded, Crescent Rose ready. "Yup," she answered. "LADYBUG!"

The two leaped into battle as one, once again forcing Nightmare onto the defensive. Their strikes proved swift and true, slowly but surely wearing down the dark blue knight. Then, Ruby swung her scythe in an upward arc, catching Nightmare's chin. The force of the blow lifted up his helmet, and soon it clattered to the ground, revealing Nightmare's face to the former members of RWBY.

They both gasped, halting their assault immediately. The messy, blonde hair... The dorky yet handsome face. The only thing different were his ocean blue eyes replaced with the vicious color of coal red.

"J-Jaune...?" Ruby whimpered, nearly dropping Crescent Rose at the sight of her friend. "No... There's no way!"

Blake narrowed her eyes, tightening her grip on Gambol Shroud. "Jaune?" she hissed. "What's going on here? Why are you wearing that armor? How did you get that sword? Why are you fighting us?!"

Jaune, or Nightmare, simply grinned maliciously. "Fools." he said, his voice deep and grave. "Tremble before Soul Edge!"

Suddenly he swung with all his might, finally catching the two. They were sent flying through the woods, tumbling over rock and dirt before reaching a painful stop. They shakily rose to their feet, catching sight of Nightmare stalking towards them. Blake could tell that their aura levels were critical, and that they would not survive another blow like that. She gripped Ruby's arm and began leading her away. Ruby instantly struggled though, trying in vain to free herself from the faunus's grip.

"But...Jaune!" she protested.

"That's not Jaune," Blake stated as calmly as she could muster. "Ruby, we have to get Ren and Nora and retreat. We'll die if we keep fighting him like this."

"But..."

 _"Ruby, please!"_ Blake now begged, her amber eyes filled with worry as Nightmare still approached them. "We'll figure this out later, I promise! But we have to leave, now!"

Ruby opened her mouth, but then closed it and reluctantly nodded. The two then ran off towards the direction Ren and Nora had landed, and thankfully the two seemed alright. Nora was unconscious, but breathing. Ren was bloodied and bruised, but still able to stand. Nodding at the girls, he picked up Nora bridal style while Ruby grabbed Magnhild. The three then bolted away as fast as they could, leaving Nightmare behind in the small clearing.

Nightmare picked up his helmet and placed it back on his head. Soul Edge's eye, red but otherwise okay, shifted towards its wielder. _"They'll die in time,"_ it promised. _"But for now we must build our strength."_

"How so?" Nightmare asked.

 _"I'm sure you feel it too,"_ Soul Edge continued. _"A hunger... A thirst... To gain strength, we must consume the souls of all those who stand in our way!"_

Underneath his helmet, Nightmare grinned. He then glanced down at the sword's broken edges. "And will this feasting repair your damage?"

Soul Edge blinked. _"It'll help, but I will not be fully restored that way,"_ it said. _"Let me tell you a story, wielder. During the Great War, I was defeated and shattered. My shards were spread all throughout this world, eventually finding their homes in the souls of others. To reach my true form, we must find these people and destroy them. We will collect my shards, and then Remnant will truly bow before us."_

"And who are these others?"

 _"I am unsure,"_ Soul Edge admitted. _"I was aware that one of them was locked inside the Fall Maiden of legend, but she has already been killed. Whenever a maiden dies, their powers are sent to the last person they thought of. She was murdered, was she not?"_

A faint memory played in Nightmare's head, and he slowly nodded. "Yes," he answered.

 _"Then the shard is now within the one who murdered her,"_ the cursed blade reasoned. It's eyes gazed at its wielder. _"And you know who that is, don't you?"_

Nightmare nodded, a feeling of pure hatred and rage filling every fiber of his being as one name echoed in his mind.

 _'Cinder...'_

...

Ruby had no idea how long she and the others had been running, but they had ran far enough to be clear from the forest, now reaching a large flower field that seemed to glow in the moonlight. Ruby collapsed to her knees as she struggled to catch her breath, Ren lowering Nora down next to her, before falling face first into the ground. Only Blake stood, staring back towards the direction of the woods with caution.

"I can't believe it..." Ren murmured under his breath. "That...thing was Jaune?"

Blake nodded, turning back to look at her companions. "I don't understand it either," she said. "But yes, whatever that was, it used to be Jaune."

"B-But what happened to him?" Ruby breathed, curling into a ball. "I mean... He was perfectly normal just an hour ago, why and how did he become that thing?"

Ren shrugged. "It certainly is strange," he muttered. He turned his eyes up towards Blake. "But I was wondering, how did you know where to find us?"

Ruby also turned to Blake with curious eyes, and Blake's bow twitched slightly. "I... May have been secretly following you guys for the past two weeks..." she admitted, rather lamely.

"Why?" Ruby wondered.

Blake bit her lip. "During the Battle of Beacon, I ran," she began. "I was so ashamed after what happened to Yang, I thought I could never be a huntress. I wandered around for months, killing Grimm and helping others in whatever way I could. But it wasn't enough. Without Team RWBY, I felt empty, hollow. So after a lengthy debate with myself, I decided to look for you guys. I managed to find your house, Ruby, but you weren't there."

"Did you see Yang?" Ruby then asked, leaning forward a bit.

Blake hesitantly nodded. "I didn't speak to her," she told them. "I...I was too scared. Anyway, after that I decided to make my way to Atlas, to try to find Weiss. But along the way I met your uncle, Ruby. He told me about your journey to Mistral, so I decided to follow you guys. I eventually caught up to you, and here we are."

Ruby nodded, then smiled softly. "Well, it's really great to see you again," she said. "Having you here, it gives me more hope for our mission."

"But what happens to our mission now?" Ren suddenly asked. "Our original goal was to find where Cinder was hiding, and we're nearly towards the edge of Vale. Within a couple days, we can already be on a boat to Haven. But is that still the plan, now that Jaune has turned into that 'Nightmare' creature?"

Ruby hesitated, biting her lip as she weighted their options. On one hand, she wanted to track Jaune and try to change him back, but on the other hand... All of Remnant could be doomed if they ignored the threat of Cinder. She opened her mouth to answer, but Blake quickly cut her off.

"We continue to Mistral." she said. "Right now, Cinder is the bigger threat. We can figure out what to do about Jaune on the go, I doubt tonight will be the last we see of him." She then turned to Ruby and scratched the back of her head. "Is that okay with you, Ruby?"

Ruby hesitated again, still unsure. But truthfully, it was their best option. Giving a heavy sigh, she nodded in agreement. "No, you're right," she agreed. "But for now we should rest. With our auras so low and Nora still unconscious, we should find a place to rest and recover." The other two nodded in agreement, and Ren stood up with Nora in his arms once again.

"I would suggest right here, but it's too open," he told them. "With what happened tonight, I don't think we should risk it."

Blake and Ruby nodded. "Then let's get going," said Blake. "I vaguely recall this area, I believe that there might be an abandoned farm about a half mile south of here."

"Are you sure you can handle her?" Ruby asked Ren in concern, gesturing to Nora. "You did take a harsh blow from that sword earlier."

"I'll be fine," Ren assured, wincing slightly. Ruby frowned, but the ninja gave her a determined look. Knowing she wasn't going to be able to stop him, Ruby accepted defeat and began following Blake, Ren in tow.

The three walked in silence, lost in their own thoughts. All were thinking the same thing, however. They... They simply couldn't believe it. Jaune Arc, their loyal friend and comrade, and turned into... Something else. Something they could tell was pure evil. Just the knight's appearance was enough to send shivers down their spines. And that sword... It was unlike anything they ever seen. Even though it had clearly been broken some time ago, its strength hadn't faltered in the slightest. Ruby and Ren both shuddered.

If Blake hadn't been there, they would've died.

Hell, even when Blake was there they barely escaped with their lives.

Ren took a glance down at Nora, frowning. Even though she had nearly been crushed by Nightmare, her face was peaceful. Her breathing was a bit ragged, but thankfully her aura reserves were always the second highest within RWBY and JNPR. She would heal soon. But that wasn't Ren's concern. What were they going to tell her when she woke up? There was no denying Nora's affection for Jaune, he was the only one whose friendship with her rivaled the green clad ninja.

How could they tell her that the one who nearly took her life was Jaune? How could she handle the fact that she attacked Jaune? How could she deal with Jaune...

Ren gulped and forced the words to form.

...being...evil...?

Jaune was the brother Ren never had, no doubt about it. Growing up in the orphanage had been lonely save for Nora. None of the other boys ever wanted to play with him, Jaune was really his first guy friend. His leader. His brother.

But what now?

He was brought out of his thoughts when Blake announced their arrival. Glancing up, he saw they were in front of a large barn, its red paint mostly stripped away due to age. He watched Blake force the door open, and after she did a quick inspection she nodded towards them, indicating that it was all clear. Stepping inside, Ren gently laid down Nora on a pile of hay, before collapsing in exhaustion. His body ached from his injuries and having carried Nora such a long way, but right now he was just glad she was safe.

Still... He had to figure out what to tell her when she awoke.

"We'll camp here for the day," Ruby said. "It's almost sunrise, so we'll be here for awhile. But as soon as our aura is fully restored, we'll start heading towards Mistral." Blake hummed in agreement, perching herself on the top of the barn. Ren just wordlessly nodded, keeping close to Nora.

Suddenly, the viking girl stirred, causing all heads to whip in her direction. The girl had not woken up, but she appeared to now be dreaming. She grimaced and squirmed, a slight gasp of brief pain coming from barely parted lips.

"...Nora?" Ren breathed, scooting closer and slowly taking her hand in his. Nora's stirring stopped, and slowly she opened her eyes. Her turquoise orbs tiredly glanced at her childhood friend, and she frowned slightly. This confused Ren, and he gently squeezed her hand. "Nora, what is it?" he asked her.

Nora didn't answer immediately, her eyes turning towards the ceiling. "Ren..." she began, her voice sounding raspy and hoarse. "Do you remember that fairy tale Mother Abigail used to tell us back when we lived in the orphanage?"

Ren blinked. "Yeah..." he answered, not entirely sure. "The one about the sword, right? Why ask?"

"That sword...that the guy had..." Nora murmured. "I...I think it was the same one from that fairy tale..."

...

 **Of course Nora would know XD Why wouldn't she? Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, guys! So far this has been a really fun story to write, so just keep all that joy coming my way! Also, seriously try to guess on who the other character will be? He won't be coming for a bit, so you guys have all the time in the world. Remember my hint: he's one of the few characters to appear in every single Soul Calibur game.**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to a recent review, I've made a slight change to one of the earlier chapters. See, he/she was wondering on what RNBR will do since they kinda left Crocea Mors at the campsite. Well... See, Ruby actually HAS Crocea Mors with her, she picks it up right before they go searching for Jaune. I completely forgot to write that part though, so silly me XD But now chapter 2 has been edited so that the plot hole has been fixed, so yay!**

 **Thanks for reminding me about that, sir/ma'am *tips hat* Alrighty, now enjoy the chapter, children!**

 **ALSO! Seriously, you guys can make more guesses than that :P The whole thing is still going on, all the way until the character's actually appearance. And I'm gonna crush all theories right here and now: It's not Siegfried. Sorry. But hey! There's your second hint already :D Pretty sweet, huh? Now that you know that, I wonder what else you guys will come up with...**

 **...**

All eyes were trained on Nora as she slowly sat up, leaning her sore body against a large pile of hay. She grimaced and winced, and Ren quickly flew in to help adjust her. The viking gave him a nod of gratitude, before leaning back and sighing softly.

"What do you mean by fairy tale?" Ruby asked first, leaning closer. "Nora, you said something about that sword being from a fairy tale?"

"The tale of Soul Edge," Blake said, her amber eyes glowing in the shadows. "My parents told me it when I was younger."

"Soul Edge?" Ruby repeated the name, tilting her head.

"The name of the sword that guy had," Nora murmured. She glanced up at Ruby. "You've never heard the story before?" Ruby shook her head no, and Nora chuckled dryly. "Go figure," she mumbled. She spoke louder. "It isn't exactly a happy fairy tale like the four maidens or anything like that. Mother Abigail used to only tell it to kids that got in trouble. Me and Ren would hear it a lot, 'cause I kept pulling him into my adventures."

"So... What is the story?"

Ren sighed and turned to face the silver eyed girl. "A long time ago," he began. "Back when humanity was at the brink of extinction due to the Grimm, an unknown blacksmith forged a legendary sword that he hoped would be able to destroy the monsters and save the world. He gave the sword to his son, who was training to become a great warrior."

"The weapon lived up to the blacksmith's expectations," Blake added, continuing the story. "His son was able to destroy the Grimm at an alarming rate, and for a long time it was believed he really was the savior of Remnant."

"But he became bad," Nora whispered loud enough for the others to hear. "He believed himself to be greater than humanity, a god or something. He began killing everyone, but a young knight managed to stop him."

"The sword was lost for a time being," Ren said. "Until a second wielder found it and claimed it as his own. Mother Abigail always said that the second wielder was the one who gave the sword a name."

"Soul Edge," Ruby realized. Blake nodded in confirmation.

"As time went on, the sword apparently developed a will of its own," the faunus explained. "The second wielder went mad and was defeated as a result. The sword showed up for the third and final time during the Great War."

"The third wielder was the most dangerous," Ren told the younger girl. "Mother Abigail always said that he was able to destroy entire armies with a single swing. But at the end of the war, a nobleman slew him in battle, and broke the sword into several pieces, so that it could never be wielded again."

"But apparently, that guy did an awful job," Blake hissed. "Because that sword still looked pretty intact."

"They say the sword is able to possess anyone who holds it..." Nora whimpered as realization settled upon her. "We didn't find Jaune, and that guy told us..." She gasped, and tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She slowly brought her knees up to her chest and buried her head between them. "No way..." she weakly protested as she shook her head, voice muffled. "Jaune-Jaune wouldn't..."

Ren took the girl in his arms and gently rubbed her back. "I know, Nora," he whispered soothingly. "Don't worry, we'll find a way to get Jaune back."

"Promise?" Nora hiccuped, sniffling.

Ren smiled softly. "Promise."

As this happened, Ruby scooted closer to Blake. "So... Soul Edge was apparently just a bedtime story, but it's actually real?" she asked, trying to reach a solid conclusion.

Blake nodded grimly. "Seems like it," she answered. "And yet... Despite seeing it with my own eyes, it's still hard to believe."

"Yeah..." Ruby bit her lip, before gently leaning her head against the faunus's shoulder. "Do you think we can get Jaune back, Blake?"

Blake was silent for a few moments. "To tell you the truth, I don't know," she admitted. "Ruby... In the story, the only way the wielder was ever stopped was if..." She paused, then sighed heavily. "They were only stopped...if they were killed..." she forced out, lowering her voice so only Ruby could hear.

Ruby gasped and shook her head frantically. "But Blake!" she hissed. "We can't do that to him! He's our friend!"

"I've had friends I had to fight!" Blake growled. She calmed herself down and wrapped an arm around her young leader. "I know you hate the thought of it, Ruby, but I'm trying to be realistic here. We _are_ going to have to fight him again, and if it comes down to it..." Another pause, another sigh. "If it comes down to it, we will have to take him down permanently. I don't like the sound of it and I hope it never becomes like that, but we have to consider it a possibility."

"...I understand," Ruby reluctantly agreed.

"But changing subjects..." Blake glanced outside, the sun peeking over the hills. "We should begin planning our next move soon."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. She stood up and turned toward her team. "Okay, guys, we need a solid game plan," she told them. "We may have gotten away earlier, but we don't know how fast he could keep up with us, assuming that's what he's trying to do. As soon as everyone's auras are fully restored, we pack up what we can and head to the nearest port. From there we hitch a ride to Mistral and take down Cinder!"

"Sounds fair," Ren said. He helped Nora to her feet, giving the viking a pat on the back. "Nora's aura managed to heal her wounds, she's good enough to travel. My pain has also disappeared, so I'm ready when you are."

Ruby turned to Blake, who shrugged. "I guess I'm fine," she muttered. Ruby grinned and nodded, turning towards the rising sun and pointing her finger at it.

"Alright then," she exclaimed. "Let's get going, no time to waste!" As the others walked out of the barn, Ruby's happy-go-lucky grin disappeared. She slowly reached under her hood and pulled out Jaune's former weapon of choice. Her hands carefully caressed it, and Blake's earlier words flashed through her mind.

If things got really bad... They... They would have to... Kill-

She shook her head. No! That wasn't an option, not on her watch! They would get Jaune back, she would swear it!

'Hold on, Jaune,' she thought. 'I'll save you... I promise.'

"Ruby, come on!" Blake's voice called out to her.

"Coming!" Ruby responded, tucking away Crocea Mors again. Giving it a firm pat, she jogged after the rest of her team, hope for Jaune filling her insides.

'Hold on, Jaune.' she repeated. 'Just please hold on.'

...

The journey to Mistral would take several days, a length of time Nightmare was not patient with. He marched through the woods, all forest animals and Grimm staying clear from his path. A wise decision, the knight would have surely killed anything that would have gotten in his way.

 _"Patience, Nightmare,"_ Soul Edge said, sensing its wielder's tension. _"You'll reach Mistral soon enough."_

"Cinder..." the azure knight growled hatefully. "I want her head!"

 _"And you'll have it,"_ the sword vowed. _"But first you must provide my needs. The woman has the powers of a maiden, a being you are not yet equal to. We must grow stronger first."_

A foolish ursa attempted to attack Nightmare, who cut it down with relative ease. "These soulless abominations hardly add to my power," he snarled.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking branches and rustling bushes caught the villain's attention, and he turned around to see a mortal stumble out. His appearance was... Foolish. an unshaven face, eyes laced with signs of being drunk, clothes wrinkled and awkwardly positioned. A red hood, much similar to the one the child from earlier had worn, draped over his back. Attached to his belt was some sort of cane, and in his hands he wielded a large sword that rivaled the size of Soul Edge.

 _"You want strength, then kill him,"_ the cursed weapon suggested. _"I can tell that despite his unassuming appearance, he is a powerful warrior. Defeat him and you will certainly be one step closer to destroying Cinder and receiving my shard."_ Nightmare nodded eagerly, bringing the sword to an offensive position and the unwitting opponent looked around in a drunken state of confusion.

"Where the *hic* hell are they?" he muttered as he walked straight past Nightmare, still failing to notice the knight's presence. "Damn kids... I leave 'em alone for *hic* a few hours and they up and ditch their campsite..."

Suddenly, Nightmare swung Soul Edge with the intention of cleaving the hunter in half. Almost lazily, the hunter turned around and blocked it, but the force knocked him back a few steps. The man glanced from his feet to the knight, and then laughed. "Well," he chuckled. "You must be pretty strong to force me back like that."

"I am called Nightmare, mortal."

"Nightmare, huh?" The man tested the name a few times, before shrugging. "Whatever. Name's Qrow, and I don't suppose you're gonna tell me where I can find a group of super-powered brats, huh?"

Nightmare smirked underneath his helmet. "They were dealt with by my hand," he cackled, raising his gigantic claw as he did so.

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "And you expect me to believe that?" he asked. He shrugged again. "Well... Whatever. If you really think you're so tough, then come over and fight me already!"

Nightmare slowly circled around Qrow, who held his sword in an offensive position, waiting for the villain to make the first move. Nightmare then lunged, faking a sword swing while delivering a harsh kick to Qrow's gut. The drunken hunter leaped away from the attack and smirked, his sword shifting into a gun. He fired once, but it was blocked by Soul Edge. Nightmare then swung again, but Qrow ducked away, slashing at the knight from behind.

Now, the children were annoying, but none of their attacks really hurt. This man, however... His attacks could actually do some damage. Nightmare swerved around and locked blades with the hunter. Nightmare narrowed his eyes as Qrow just gave a cocky smirk. Nightmare then suddenly reached out with his claw, managing to secure a hold on Qrow. The man grunted in surprise, and the breath was knocked out of him as he was slammed harshly down on the forest floor. He was then tossed upwards, and he looked down just in time to see Soul Edge come crashing down on him.

Qrow reacted quickly, twirling his body away to dodge the blow. He landed on his feet and stumbled slightly, glaring at his mysterious opponent. He sneered and spat out some blood, taking a swift gulp from his flask. "I'll admit, you're better than I thought," he complimented. "But you haven't seen anything yet!"

"What are you talking about, mortal?" Nightmare growled.

"Qrow," the hunter corrected. He suddenly shifted his grip on his sword, and to Nightmare's surprise it began to transform. Within seconds, what was originally a sword was now a scythe, one that looked much deadlier than the one the little girl had. "And this is what I'm talking about."

 _"Strong and unpredictable,"_ Soul Edge noted. _"He's an interesting opponent, much higher in skill than I expected."_ The eye shifted to look at Nightmare. _"Your usual strategy of overpowering him won't work, you'll need to be just as unpredictable as he is. Otherwise, you will surely fall before the journey even begins."_ The knight could practically hear the sword smirk. _"Think of it as a test. If you kill him, you can kill anyone else who gets in your way."_

Nightmare nodded, suddenly shifting his pose so that he held the sword behind him. He grinned as he felt how comfortable, how _natural_ it felt holding the cursed blade like this. In theory, this would allow him more movement and ways to attack, instead of constantly being pushed into defense.

Qrow seemed to understand this as well, because he began circling his opponent more cautiously, scythe at the ready. The two warriors stared into each other's eyes, neither backing down. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Qrow scoffed. "Screw this," he grumbled, before charging full speed at Nightmare. Nightmare dodged and brought his blade up, locking it with Qrow's scythe. The hunter chuckled. "You're getting better," he praised, as if it was all just some friendly spar.

The two jumped back, Nightmare immediately switching to offense. With surprising speed, he twirled Soul Edge in deadly arcs, which Qrow barely managed to deflect. He didn't see the kick that the knight lashed out, and it caught him right in the gut. He flew back, stabbing his scythe into the ground to regain his balance. Nightmare continued his frenxy, rushing back in while hacking ans slashing.

Qrow was forced to attempt to dodge all the blows, the close combat rendering his weapon near useless. Finally, he saw his chance. As Nightmare swung, Qrow dived between his opponent's legs, tripping the knight and sending him tumbling to the ground. Qrow smirked and raised his scythe, swinging it down to cut right through Nightmare's head. Nightmare rolled out of the way and slashed at Qrow's knees. The hunter barely escaped by jumping up, only to once again be caught in Nightmare's giant claw. The knight attempted to smash him into the ground, but Qrow brought his foot up and connected it with the knight's face. Nightmare grunted and dropped Qrow, he wasted no time in delivering a three slash combo to Nightmare's chest. He finished it with another kick that sent the knight into a tree.

"Well, that was fun," he said sarcastically. He took out his flask and gulped down the burning drink inside. Wiping his mouth, he was about to walk away when he heard his opponent climb back to his feet. Turning his head to see him, he saw that Nightmare was rushing towards him. "Shit." Qrow hissed as he blocked the blow with his scythe. With a quick flick of his arm, Soul Edge was torn from Nightmare's arm by the scythe and cast away.

"What?!" Nightmare roared, before delivering a swift punch to Qrow. The hunter ducked under it, slashing his scythe upwards and sending Nightmare to the air. He jumped up and prepared to finish the blow, but to his surprise he saw the smug confidence in Nightmare's eyes. The scythe sunk into Nightmare's shoulder, who winced but took the pain , to Qrow's shock, Nightmare grabbed him by his claw and viciously squeezed. All the air was instantly cut from Qrow's lungs as he felt himself literally getting crushed by Nightmare's grip.

Nightmare chuckled darkly and threw Qrow to the ground, the impact hard enough to leave a crater.

Nightmare roared out his battle cry, landing feet first on Qrow, breaking his body even further. Qrow gasped as blood flew out of his mouth, and as Nightmare stepped off he desperately tried to get back on his feet. "C'mon, aura," he muttered painfully. "Hurry up!"

Nightmare picked up Soul Edge, taking his sweet time as he figured it would take Qrow awhile to be back on his feet. "This battle is as good as ours," he confidently informed the cursed blade, who blinked in response.

"You seriously talking to that thing?" Qrow asked, spitting out a bloody tooth as he stood up, his legs shaking. His breathing was ragged, coming out as sharp wheezes. Qrow shook his head. "You're something else, y'know that?"

Nightmare didn't say anything, instead raising Soul Edge and preparing the finishing blow. Qrow brought his weapon up too, his bent knees suggesting he was going to attempt one last rush. 'Ruby...' he thought. 'Good luck, kid.'

The two then charged, and the sound of clashing metal was heard. Blood splattered against the forest floor, and Nightmare skidded to a halt as a single crow's feather floated gently to the ground.

...

 **Bet you didn't see that coming! So is Qrow dead or alive...? Well, maybe he is...maybe he isn't. But I'm sure many of you can make the right guess ;) Oh yeah, there WILL be character death in this fic. Well... That shouldn't really be a surprise but here I am telling you anyway! I'll admit that I'm kinda nerfing Nightmare so that fights with him are a bit more even, but I think my nerfing is justified! Because, well... It IS Jaune XD He isn't really a macho Siegfried. But don't worry, he'll get to the real Nightmare's level of badassery soon enough ;D**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Everyone last night in the reviews were all like "Nuuuu, not Qrow!" and it was glorious :D So I'll just come out and squash whatever hope you have left. Nightmare totally killed Qrow. The whole "single feather" thing I added at the end was just me attempting to be poetic XD It sucked, right? Also, here's a little heads up: Not much Nightmare in this chapter, if any at all. Instead it'll focus on some less important characters that WILL actually become important later on.**

 **And Team RNBR as well, because main protagonists.**

 **...**

 _"NO!"_

 _"Oh? The great Ozpin actually shocked? The world must be ending."_

 _"Qrow..."_

 _"Is this finally it, Ozpin? Has the death of your most loyal chess piece caused you to finally lose hope? After all, your smaller, more honest soul was the very one who killed him. Your own pawns are revolting against their king, it won't take long for the game to crumble before you,with only the black queen piece left standing."_

 _"..."_

 _"Silence, Ozpin? How disappointing, I was looking forward to your response... But never mind. The game is shifting sides, Ozpin. It won't be long now before Remnant falls to its knees. It will bow before the might of Soul Edge, and that collective fear will bring in every Grimm waiting. And that is when I'll make my move, Ozpin. With Remnant torn by both Soul Edge and the Grimm, humanity will finally fall, claiming my victory. It will be a beautiful sight."_

 _"...you won't win, Salem."_

 _"Still clinging to your false sense of hope, hm? Fine, I'll allow this pitiful debate to continue for the time being, only for my desire to watch you become broken. Soon, Ozpin, you'll begin to see the world through my eyes. And that is when your smaller, more honest souls will join their fallen allies in the coming battles. This is the beginning of the end, Ozpin... And I can't wait to watch you burn."_

 _"..."_

...

A pair of eyes, with an odd combination of pink and brown, shot open in the darkness. The owner of the eyes, a young woman named Neo, sat up in her bed, sweat dripping from her brow. She wiped it away and flicked her hand, as she thought that sweat was pretty gross. The girl looked around her room, noticing the three other figures.

'It was just a dream,' she reminded herself. 'You're still in Haven, calm down.'

Haven... What an odd place. The free rooming and meals were nice, although it would have been better if she had it all to herself, instead of having to share it with her 'teammates'.

She hadn't understood why Cinder chose for them to hide out in Haven. Granted, they were _technically_ students there thanks to the fake identities they had created, but it still seemed to risky to her. Sure, no one here could recognize them as the ones who had basically destroyed Beacon Academy, but that little red riding hood with the scythe could. But despite her complaints, Cinder had reassured the assassin that Team RWBY was no longer a threat, and that they could rest easy for the time being, until their next phase of the plan was ready to begin.

At the thought of the red hooded girl, Neo clenched her fists around her blankets. She _hated_ her! That bitch was the reason Roman Torchwick was dead! The one person who was ever willing to take her in, the man she had admired and looked up to as the father she never had, was _fucking dead_ because of that stupid scythe wielding _whore!_

Neo wiped stray tears from her eyes as memories of the master thief returned to her. No, there was no time for tears. She would kill Red all by herself, she would get revenge, she would deliver _justice_ for Roman!

When she had barely managed to survive the Grimm attack at Beacon, she had found a burnt and vanishing corpse of a flying Grimm, and inside it she found the body of... Well, maybe it had been a tad bit too early to call him a body...

 _"Neo...you're alive," he rasped. He gave a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. "I'm...so glad..."_

 _"...!" Neo lightly patted Roman's face, causing his eyes to open once more. He glanced at Neo, wincing slightly at the tears she produced._

 _"Tch..." he scoffed. "You're too damn cute, y'know that?"_

 _She gave him a desperate look that said "you'll be okay, right?"_

 _Roman understood what she was asking, and he sadly shook his head. "I...I don't think so," he admitted sadly. He coughed, a few drops of blood landing on Neo's cheek. She paid it no mind, instead gently bringing the older criminal's head onto her lap, removing his hat and softly stroking his orange hair. Roman closed his eyes in comfort and smiled. "Neo, I need you to do me a favor," he said after a few moments._

 _Neo blinked, flicking his forehead as a sign to continue. Roman opened his eyes again and weakly raised his arm, pointing at the slim object laying a few feet away. "My cane," he said. "I want you to take it and keep it with you...always..." He glanced back up at his partner in crime and gave another sad smile. "That...way...no matter what..." He placed a finger on her chest, above her heart. "I'll...always be...right..." His eyes slowly closed, his body going limp. "...here." he finished with his last breath, his hand falling from her heart._

 _Neo caught his hand as her tears flowed out. She shook her head in denial, gently trying in vain to shake the man awake. She let out a frustrated growl when it didn't work. She tried once more, this time using her voice for the first time in years. "R-R-Roman?" she called out in a voice barely above a whisper. She shook him more. "R-R-Roman...w-wake up..."_

 _He didn't wake, and Neo finally broke, sobbing over the man's dead body as she cursed the world around her._

Neo took a glance at the cane that leaned against her bed, and she gently reached for it, holding it in her hands. Her nimble fingers glided over it, and she brought it close to her chest, rocking back and forth slowly. She closed her eyes and hummed a small tune she remembered her real mother teaching her before disappearing.

Suddenly, she heard someone else in the room awaken, and she took a side glance to see it was Mercury, one of Cinder's main lackeys. He looked like he had just woken up from a dream, and he slowly turned his head, blinking in mild surprise when he saw that the ice cream themed criminal was also up. They didn't speak for a moment, but finally Mercury opened his mouth.

"You had the dream again, didn't you?" he whispered, and Neo nodded. Mercury frowned and laid back down in bed. "Same here. It's so...bizarre."

The dream they were talking about started about one week ago. For some reason, both of them had the same dream, and neither of them could explain it. It was always the same, never once changing...

 _A haunting figure stood over a field of corpses, holding a giant sword in its hand. The sword had a single eye which stared at them with a disturbing and unreadable gaze. Voices were heard, apparently chanting something but neither of them could tell what. The figure then slowly turned towards them, staring deep into their soul with eyes as red as hot coal. He took a step towards them, and he extended a giant claw towards them, and said something that they couldn't make out save for a few words._

 _"Soul...servants...of...Soul Ed-"_

 _They would find themselves slowly reaching to grab his giant claw..._

...and then they would wake up.

Both sighed, neither knowing what to do or what to make of this.

"Maybe we could tell Cinder?" he suggested, but immediately took it back when Neo threw her pillow at him. "Ouch, yeesh... Okay, we won't tell her or Emerald." He scratched the back of his neck. "Still, we gotta figure out what's going on with these dreams, y'know? We should start pooling in some research tomorrow. Sounds good?"

Neo nodded, holding out her hand. It took Mercury a moment, but he eventually realized what she was referring to. He ahnded the pillow back to the girl, and she nodded in gratitude. Grumbling, Mercury laid back down and attempted to fall back asleep. "G'night, Neo." he called out quietly.

He got a brief thumbs up in response.

...

It was a slightly lengthy journey, mostly due to Ren accidentally losing their map, but the new Team RNBR had finally managed to reach one of Vale's port towns, a tiny place called Shore. It wasn't much, just a market place and a few homes, with one schoolhouse. Despite its unassuming appearance though, a lot of large ships full of passengers and cargo found their way to the town, making it play a decent role in Vale's economic values.

Unfortunately, they had arrived a little too late, as the last passenger ship had just sailed away earlier that morning. The next wouldn't come until the next day, which _fortunately_ meant the team would have a day to kick back and relax. Well...That's what Ren did, at least. Nora had decided to go exploring, while Ruby and Blake wandered around the 'streets' of Shore.

"I can't wait to start sailing towards Haven," Ruby exclaimed. "It would be so awesome to see Sun, Neptune, and the others again!" Her facial expression turned teasing and sly as she lightly elbowed her faunus teammate. "I bet you're _really_ excited about seeing your _boyfriend_ again, right, Blake?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "You're becoming too much like Yang," she deadpanned, trying to ignore the faint blush on her cheeks.

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe after, we could go visit Weiss?" she suggested, changing the subject.

Blake nodded. "I do wonder what she is up to," she admitted. "I hope she's alright."

"I think she's fine," Ruby said. "I mean, she's Weiss! She's totally amazing!"

Blake chuckled and shrugged. "Sure," she agreed.

Ruby pouted. "You don't think so?" she asked, ready to defend the heiress if need be.

"Physically, she's pretty capable," the faunus explained. "But emotionally? How must she feel, being isolated from the world and her teammates? Her father is a horrible man, Ruby, you must understand that. If he took her back to Atlas where it's 'safe', then there's no doubt that he stripped away much of her freedom. She's probably only allowed out when it involves lavish dinner parties and things like that."

Ruby frowned and shook her head. "Poor Weiss..." she murmured. "We really should help her after all this is said and done with."

"I couldn't agree more, Ruby."

"And then we can get you talking to Yang again!"

Blake stopped walking, amber eyes widened slightly. "W-What?" she stammered. Ruby rolled her eyes and stepped closer with a spring in her feet.

"After all of this is over with, you should talk to Yang again," she repeated. Ruby glanced down and wrung her fingers together. "She...She misses you, Blake, even if she doesn't admit it. You were her partner, the person she could trust most. Next to me, you were the most important person in her life. And I think you still are."

"Ruby, I-" Blake paused, then sighed sadly. "I don't even know what I'd say to her. I...I'm scared of speaking to her, Ruby. I'm afraid she'll hate me for running away after the battle... And y'know something? She has every right to be."

"Don't say that!" Ruby argued, taking Blake's hands in her own. "What you did was wrong, Blake... But despite that, you're here with me right now. That shows how much you care about us still. Yang will understand, I know she will! And she'll forgive you, I promise!"

Blake slowly blinked, before letting out a small chuckle. "You really think so?" she asked with a slight smile.

Ruby grinned and nodded eagerly. "I know so!" she declared with confidence.

"Alright then," said the B of Team RWBY. "After this, I'll talk to her, I promise."

"Good!" Ruby glanced up, noticing the sun was lowering a bit. "It's getting a bit late..." she realized. "We should probably head back to the inn." She began walking away, gesturing for Blake to follow. The cat faunus did, her eyes taking in the sights of Shore once more. It really was a peaceful little town, a place a young couple might settle down to raise their child, or perhaps a source retirement for old men who had worked hard for most of their adult lives, and could now enjoy a life of peace and tranquility.

Suddenly, she accidentally bumped into one of those old men, and she turned around to face him. "I'm sorry, sir," she apologized. "I wasn't looking and I..." She faltered when she noticed the man wasn't looking at her, instead his beady eyes were focused on the sky. "Sir...?" Blake called out hesitantly, briefly wondering if she was dealing with the local drunk or something like that.

"Storm's coming," the elderly man suddenly murmured, eyes still trained on the sky. Blake followed his gaze, and was confused to see nothing but clear sky. There was no sign of any clouds, just peaceful, beautiful blue.

"I don't understand," she admitted. "I don't see any sign of a storm..."

The old man then tore his gaze away from the sky and looked at the faunus instead. It was then that Blake noticed how tired the old man's eyes were from years and years of hard work and collected wisdom. The eyes showed a man who knew exactly what he was talking about, and she couldn't help but feel some respect for him.

The man's eyes then shifted to Gambol Shroud, which was sheathed against Blake's back. "You're a huntress?" he inquired, ignoring her previous question.

"Y-Yes," Blake answered.

The old man's expression turned into a sad one. "Then please, save this town when the storm arrives," he begged quietly. He tilted his head to look at the sky again. "I've lived here for over forty years. Once you live someplace that long it kind of grows on you. The people here are lovely, beautiful souls. The scenery is something out of a simple painting. Simple, but oh so effective in execution. If you were to see a painting of this town, you would _still_ be able to smell that ocean breeze..." He inhaled deeply from his nose as if to prove his point. "It would be a shame to see it all go. So please..." He turned to look back at her once more. "Save this town, huntress."

The man's love for his home was obvious, and Blake was envious that he could live such a wonderful and simple life. She smiled at his sincerity, and gave a small bow. "I'll defend it with my life if need be," she vowed.

"I hope so, huntress. I hope so..."

...

General Ironwood was a patient man, so he could understand why Atlas's best scientists still needed some time to finish their next project.

That didn't mean he had to like it, though.

"We're trying our best, sir," one of the scientists insisted, earning a nod from several others. "It's just, that..."

"Just what?" Ironwood demanded. When the scientist didn't speak, Ironwood pressed the matter further. "Tell me, man. Why are you so hesitant?"

"Atlas is in a very awkward spot right now," the scientist explained. "After all, the last thing the world saw before the feed was cut off at the Vytal Festival were Atlesian soldiers firing at innocent civilians... And then Miss Polendina's identity as an android was revealed, causing further controversy... With all this distrust towards our country, is this really such a good idea, General?"

Ironwood sighed and nodded. "True, there are some cons to this," he admitted. "But I truly believe that this will be for the good of Remnant." He paused, before adding, "how is she, by the way?"

"Nearly complete," another scientist reported. "Although the only thing that is missing is a power source. Once we have that, everything will begin working properly. Unfortunately, due to..." She didn't want to say to the general's face that it was because of his insistence for even higher technology than last time. "Well... All of this new technology will require a power source with such power that we neither have the time to build or search for."

"I understand," Ironwood said after a few moments. He placed his hand on his chin and thought for a few moments. There _had_ to be _something_ that could work! 'Think, James, think,' he urged himself. And soon, an idea struck him with a memory.

...something Ozpin had told him about a few years ago, and something Mr. Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company had confirmed as well.

If he could get a hold of it, then...

...yes...It could work!

"I believe I may have the solution you've been looking for," he told the scientists, who all stared at him eagerly. Ironwood couldn't help but smirk at how easily he had their attention. "Tell me," he said. He paused, before continuing. "Do any of you believe in fairy tales?"

...

 **No Nightmare this chapter, sorry. BUT BUT BUT! Obviously some shit is going down with some secondary characters. What could possibly be going on? What is the meaning behind these strange dreams Neo and Mercury have been having? What is this "power source" Atlas needs and why _do_ they need it? Feel free to leave your theories in the reviews! Of course, I already know what's going on ;D Yay!**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	6. Chapter 6

**JESUS CHRIST I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT EVERYONE! It's been a cruel mixture of writer's block and faulty internet/technology these past few days, but hopefully I'll be able to get everything back on track... Well, the faulty technology part is still a bit of a problem at the moment but I can manage.**

 **Anyway, THANK YOU TO THE ONE GUY WHO CAUGHT MY USE FOR NEO! Yes, Neo WILL be the stand in for Tira in this story, because I felt like the role of Nightmare's obsessive, adorable, psychotic servant was just too suiting for everyone's favorite ice cream gal :3 And if you don't know who Tira is, open up a new tab and google her right now! And as for Mercury's role... I guess he's VERY loosely based off of Maxi, but for the most part he's being added simply because I needed to fill out the last slot for the inevitable four vs four battle coming up later. *cough* HINT HINT *cough***

 **And lastly, I'm still very disappointed no one has been able to correctly guess who the second Soul Calibur character is. Yup, despite many guesses not a single person has been correct. Seriously, just google the characters who have been around since the very first game in the series, Soul Edge. BECAUSE C'MON! I've been planning everything about this guy and how his lore will fit into the RWBY lore and everything and more everything!**

 **...**

"General Ironwood, this is insane!"

The general/headmaster of Atlas sighed and rubbed his temples as the same sentence he had been hearing for the past twenty minutes was being repeated _again._ Sitting up straight, he glanced around the operating room until his eyes pinpointed the scientist who spoke. A young man, probably fresh out of college, likely had little to know idea what was going on.

"I am well aware of how it sounds," he stated the a slightly tightened jaw. "But I believe it's for the best. This could be used to benefit all of Remnant in the future."

"But we're talking about rebuilding one of the very reasons the rest of the kingdoms have turned their backs on us!" another scientist protested. "And even crazier, you're saying we'll be doing it using a shard from a _magical_ sword?! No offense, sir, but this is absolutely ludicrous!"

"I know," Ironwood sighed. "But I need you to trust me. Not only will it help save and bring together all of Remnant, but..." He turned to face an older scientist, one with a distant and weary look in his eyes. The scientist glanced up at the general, and his expression turned to one of gratitude. Ironwood smiled slightly, before finishing his thought. "...consider this also a matter of personal reasons between friends."

'Admittedly, this is rather insane,' Ironwood thought. 'But I truly believe this may be the way to finally having our peace restored.' He scoffed a bit. 'Almost sounds crazy enough for something Ozpin would do.'

"Either way," another scientist, more neutral in the matter than some of the others, began saying. "The girl is just about ready. All we need to do is insert the power source into her core, and she'll be ready for anything." He turned to face the general. "Speaking of which, when will the shard be arriving, general?"

Just then, the door opened, and in walked a woman with pale skin and snow-white hair, wearing a military uniform. She carried herself with pride only a Schnee could possess, a small, black box in her hands.

Ironwood sighed in relief at the sight of his right hand woman, not sure whether he would have survived the scientist's doubts for much longer. "Winter," he greeted with a nod. "You're just in time."

Winter set down the box and saluted, before turning back to the object. "I hope you know how much trouble I went through to get a hod of this," she said crossly as she opened the box. "My father is not happy that a relic belonging to the Schnee's is being taken away." She picked up the relic for all to see. "Even though he rarely showed care for it before," she finished.

The relic was rather simple in appearance, a sharp piece of metal that gleamed brightly. What made it unique, however, was the faint red glow it gave off, one that caused feelings of nervousness and anxiety to course through all the scientists present.

"What's that wicked looking thing?" a scientist in the back of the room asked, taking a few steps backward.

"This is a shard from the legendary sword, Soul Edge," Ironwood explained. "And it has been in the Schnee family's possession since the end of the Great War."

"When Sir Nicholas Arc slayed the monster who wielded it, he split the sword into many pieces in attempt to stop it from ever being used again," Winter told them all. "One of them fell into the hands of my great grandfather." She sighed. "My father never believed in the stories of Soul Edge, but when my great grandfather and grandfather both died, he didn't bother getting rid of it. He let it just sit in this box for years and years. I'm honestly surprised he even argued about keeping it when I took it."

"But that's enough of that, we should begin now," Ironwood suggested. The scientists nodded and led the two high ranking soldiers to the center of the operating room.

There, on the table, was a naked girl with blank, green eyes that stared at nothing and red hair. Her stomach was opened, revealing various wires and technology that appeared almost alien to anyone who hasn't seen them before. In the middle of all of that was an empty space, where the power source was meant to be placed.

"Ms. Schnee, if you would," a scientist commanded as he held out his hand. Winter handed the man the piece of Soul Edge, and the scientist felt a shiver go up his spine as he held it.

The scientist carefully placed the shard into the girl's core, and began hooking a bunch of wires to it. The other scientists scrambled for the monitors, checking up on the girl's status. Finally, the man closed the girl's stomach, and everyone in the room waited in silence.

Ironwood placed his hand on the shoulder of the scientist he had been mentioning before. He could sense the man's anxiety and excitement, and he gently squeezed. "Don't worry, Dr. Polendina," he assured. "She'll wake up, I promise."

And no sooner than the words left his mouth, that the girl slowly began to move. Everyone gasped and moved closer as she sat up and took in her surroundings in confusion. "Wha..." she breathed, before Dr. Polendina caught her attention.

"Hello, Penny," he greeted warmly. "I am Dr. Polendina, your father. Do you understand?"

The girl's green eyes blinked slowly as she registered this information. After she was silent for a few moments, Dr. Polendina feared that she might not be fully complete, but those fears were dashed away when the girl burst into a happy grin and waved her hand excitedly. "Salutations, Father!" she greeted with all the cheer and innocence in the world.

Ironwood watched this with an amused smirk on his face. He shook his head and clapped Polendina on the back. 'Some things just never change,' he thought as he watched the overjoyed scientist embrace his "daughter".

...

"...Jaune-Jaune..." Nora murmured in her sleep as she twitched slightly. "...pancakes...too..."

Ren gave an amused smile as he sat on his own bed, using the light of the lamp next to him to allow him to read the novel he had in his hands. It was nearly midnight, the first ship arriving at Shore would come at about four in the morning. The team were planning on taking that one, and had hit the hay at the local inn rather early to get a good rest before the trip to Mistral. But Ren couldn't sleep, he wouldn't! Not when he still had five chapters left, not when main character Nagate was beginning the epic duel against Yoshiki for the freedom of the fair Princess Fuko!

As he turned another page, he began to think about the journey that lied ahead and the events that came before. He was nervous and excited about visiting Mistral. After all, that was where he and Nora had lived before arriving at Beacon. It would be great to see home once again!

...unfortunately, he doubted there would be much time for catching up with old memories, not with such an important mission in hand. They had one goal: find Cinder and stop whatever her next plan was. Ren spared a glance at Nora, and he suddenly remembered when the two of them first decided to come on this journey.

 _"Ruby's going to Haven," Jaune announced after the funeral for Pyrrha had ended._

 _Ren and Nora looked at their leader in confusion, almost not believing what they heard. "What?" Ren asked. "But why?"_

 _"Because that's where Cinder is," Jaune growled, scowling at the vile woman's name. "That woman, the one who let all of those Grimm into Beacon, the one who killed Pyrrha... She's hiding somewhere in Haven, we just know it."_

 _"And why are you telling this to us?" Nora asked, tilting her head. She frowned as Jaune's fists clenched. "Jaune..?"_

 _"Because I'm going too." he said. "I'm going with Ruby, and we're taking down Cinder even if we die trying."_

 _Ren placed his hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Jaune, that's-"_

 _"It's WHAT, Ren?!" Jaune snarled as he yanked the ninja's hand off of his shoulder. "Tell me why I shouldn't go along?! Tell me why I shouldn't avenge Pyrrha?!" Tears streaked out as his fists shook. "TELL ME, DAMMIT!"_

 _"It's just..." Ren sighed and shook his head sadly. "Don't think you're the only one who misses Pyrrha, Jaune. We all do, she was our friend and teammate." He glanced towards Nora for help briefly, before turning back to his leader. "But that journey is two dangerous for you two. You guys...you might die."_

 _"I don't care..." Jaune hissed. "All that matters is bringing justice to Cinder. She killed Pyrrha... She doesn't deserve forgiveness, she doesn't deserve-"_

 _SLAP!_

 _Both Jaune and Ren's eyes widened as Nora delivered a harsh slap to the knight's cheek, her own tears forming as well. "Just...Stop it, Jaune!" she cried. "Stop acting so scary! Pyrrha wouldn't want you to be angry like this! You're only spitting on her name by acting like this, dammit!"_

 _Jaune was in stunned silence the longest time, before he slowly nodded. "You're right, Nora..." he whispered. "i'm...so sorry...I didn't know what came over me..."_

 _The girl hugged him tightly. "It's okay," she assured. "We just don't want to see you like this... And that's why..." She turned to Ren, who nodded. Grinning, Nora turned back to Jaune and gave a thumbs up. "And that's why we're coming with you!"_

 _Jaune blinked and scratched the back of his neck. "A-Are you sure?" he asked them. Ren smirked._

 _"How could we say no?" he countered. "After all, we're all still a team."_

 _"And now we can have a new team with Ruby!" Nora pointed out. "We could... Oh! We could call ourselves Team Ranger!"_

 _"I like the sound of that," Jaune agreed, before bringing his fist up in front of him. "Alright, guys... Let's have one more adventure together, in memory of Pyrrha!"_

 _Nora and Ren brought their fists in as well, and gave a determined nod. "For Pyrrha!" they repeated._

"A fellow 'Ninjas in Love' fan, I reckon?" Blake's voice suddenly cut Ren out of his thoughts, startling him.

Ren blushed and stuffed the book under his pillow. "Uh...um...well," he stuttered, before sighing and nodding shamefully. "Yeah..." he admitted.

Blake chuckled and gave a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I am too," she said. "People just don't understand quality smut, that's all."

"Agreed," Ren laughed as he calmed down. "They don't believe that smut can actually have meaning behind it instead of being cheap porn."

"Yang would always tease me for it," Blake recalled as she leaned back in her own bed. "I miss the old days..." She then sighed and turned back to look at the ninja. "So, want to tell me what you're thinking about?"

"...it's Jaune," Ren answered.

"I figured."

"It's just..." Ren grumbled something before speaking up. "It's just hard... Pyrrha's death had a great impact on us all, Jaune especially. So many times I thought we would lose him too, but I always kept hope that he wouldn't become too obsessed with avenging Pyrrha and killing Cinder." He was silent for a moment before continuing. "Team JNPR has lost two members now."

"Both of our teams have gone to shit," Blake muttered. "It's hard on everyone..." She took a glance at Nora's sleeping form. "Especially Nora, I've never seen her look so depressed, Ruby too. They've always been so happy and carefree."

"Jaune was among the most important people in their lives," Ren reasoned. "He was Ruby's first friend, and the first person besides me who accepted Nora for all of her quirks instead of turning away. It even took Pyrrha a day or two to fully get used to her, but Jaune didn't care from the very start."

"Hopefully we get this solved," Blake said. "The sooner we complete our mission, the sooner we can get Jaune back to normal."

Ren nodded in agreement, before laying back down. "So...what's on your mind?"

"...today, an old man said something strange today," the cat eared faunus explained. "He said...that a storm was coming. And then he begged me to protect the town when it does. I guess...I'm just wondering what he could possibly mean." She glanced at her fellow smut fan. "Do you?"

"I can't say for sure," Ren admitted. "But we'll be keeping an eye out. You get some sleep, I'll keep a watch if you want."

"Are you sure?"

Ren smiled and nodded. "I'm sure," he confirmed. "Goodnight, Blake."

Blake smiled back and closed her eyes, settling into bed. "Goodnight, Ren."

Hours passed, and the gentle snores of the three females that he was journeying with filled the room as Ren finally finished the novel he had started. Satisfied with the ending, he sat up from bed and stretched, when he froze.

Glancing towards the window, he saw a strange glow from outside, covered faintly by the curtains. The glow seemed to flicker, and the ninja slowly took steps towards the window, Stormflower appearing from his sleeves. He held the guns up, and he yanked the curtain back.

What he saw shook him to his very core.

Fire. Fire _everywhere!_ And among the flames were numerous corpses, some burnt, some crushed, but most looked like they had been cut down by a...

"Oh no," Ren whispered as the realization struck him, and what he saw next confirmed his suspicions.

Nightmare stood in the middle of the town, laughing maliciously as he cleaved right through an elderly man, a young woman held in his large claw.

"No, please!" the woman shrieked as she struggled to break free. "L-L-Let me GO! YOU MONSTER!"

Nightmare turned to face the woman, his burning red eyes glaring at her very soul. "Poor choice of words," he snarled, before throwing the woman towards the inn with all the strength he could muster. Ren barely had time to duck for cover as the woman's body crashed through the window and splattered against the floor, waking up the three other members of RNBR.

"Wha..?" Ruby slurred before her eyes settled on the corpse in the middle of their room. Gasping, she let out a loud yelp as she jumped back, Crescent Rose immediately appearing in her hands. Nora also saw the body, and she actually threw up at the very sight of it as her breathing quickened. Blake just stared silently with wide amber eyes, before she slowly turned to Ren.

"What happened?" she demanded. Ren pointed towards the broken window, and the huntresses glanced outside and felt their blood run cold.

"The storm..." Blake whispered as she realized what the old man's words meant.

"Why is this happening?!" Ruby sobbed as she backed away. "Why is Jaune doing this?! How did he even know we were here?!"

"He didn't." Ren stated, causing the others to stare at him in confusion. "He isn't here for us..." His eyes narrowed as he remembered something... Jaune's previous desire for revenge. He began piecing the puzzle together, and it hit him. "Nightmare must be driven by Jaune's desire for revenge!" he realized. "He isn't here for us, he's trying to get to Haven to kill Cinder himself. And these people... Are just obstacles in his way..."

"That's awful!" Nora cried. "We have to do something!" In an instant, she shattered the wall with Magnhild, giving them a direct path to Nightmare. "I-I don't care if that's Jaune or not, we can't let these people die!"

"She's right," Blake agreed as she unsheathed Gambol Shroud. "We have to protect this town and defeat Nightmare, or die trying."

The three turned to Ruby, who wiped the tears from her eyes before nodding as well, her silver eyes filled with determination. "We're not letting Nightmare destroy this town," she told them. "Blake, Ren! I need you two to start evacuating the townsfolk!" She turned to the viking girl. "Nora, you and I will hold off Nightmare. Now let's move out!"

Nightmare turned around and raised an eyebrow under his helmet as he saw a familiar set of teenagers running through the village, two coming straight towards him. "To see them again so soon," he rumbled. "It's unexpected, but this should prove amusing." He readied Soul Edge, grinning like a mad man. "But I've grown much stronger since killing that drunken fool. I will not fail this time!"

...

 **I need helping finding a place to add Raven into the story. Yeah, I wanna add her, and I know where and how I want to add pretty much every other character, but I'm still struggling with Raven. Any ideas would be appreciated. Anyway, I feel like totally going into a SC moment here and having a "village gets destroyed" sequence, so here it is! Now I just gotta find the right time to add the "Nightmare decimates an entire freakin' army" scene...**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	7. Chapter 7

**So... Quick announcement I guess. So, how many people here like OC team stories, give me a show of hands. No one? A few of you? Mostly no? Well, okay then. Anyway, the reason I'm asking is because I've been in the works of writing one... For over a month now. Only problem is that, well, OC's are really hard to write. Sure, you get total freedom because you practically own them, but making them fit inside the universe and making them almost as likable as the actual canon characters is the hard part. I got the "fit inside the universe" tidbit down, and I've putting in hours of research regarding how to make an OC centered story work, but I'm still not entirely sure if I'm doing it right.**

 **SO! If anyone out there is interested, I'm gonna ask for a beta reader specifically for that OC story. It doesn't have to be now, I honest to God don't mind another month or two of planning from the shadows, but support is rather nice. Because I don't want this to be another "half baked OC team goes to Beacon and saves day" sort of deal. I want it to be unique, I want every character to stand out, aaaaand I want the story to take place at Atlas Academy instead of Beacon. So if you'd like to see this all come true, pretty please send a pm! I'll also be posting this on my other RWBY story...whenever I decide to update.**

 **But without further ado, enjoy the chapter, everyone!**

 **...**

The forest was much, _much_ larger than Nightmare was expecting. Days had passed since his encounter with the children and the drunken man with the scythe. Days since his last kill, and days since he first heard the cries in his head. The cries of that weakling he had been before coming in contact with Soul Edge, the cries of that pitiful excuse of a warrior.

But no! He was not that sorry brat any more! He was Nightmare, the greatest warrior in all of Remnant! And he would only further prove it by finding that Cinder woman and taking her head as a trophy. No amount of voices in his head were going to change that.

 _'Please... I don't want this...'_

'Silence, you coward,' the azure knight growled mentally, forcing the childish begging into the back of his mind. Snarling in sudden frustration, the monstrous knight swung Soul Edge with all his might, cleaving through a thick tree with relative ease. Still not satisfied, he carved through another, and then another, and then another. Soon the entire portion of the forest he was in was chopped down, leaving behind nothing but stumps of various sizes.

The eye of Soul Edge then opened, sparing Nightmare a glance that almost seemed to contain some form of sick amusement. It blinked once, before speaking. _"Something troubles you,"_ it noted. Nightmare glared at the sword for a couple moments, before sticking it into a stump next to him.

"Yes," he admitted. "The boy, the boy I was before, his voice calls out to me."

 _"Are you worried he may grow stronger?"_ the cursed blade asked.

Nightmare grunted and shook his head. "He is too weak to become any sort of threat," he claimed. "It's just that his presence has become an annoyance."

 _"He will vanish with time,"_ the sword assured. _"For now, though, why don't you vent out your frustration on something other than the trees?"_

"Like what?" Nightmare growled. "This forest stretches on forever!"

 _"Actually, I vaguely recall this area from a time with a previous wielder,"_ Soul Edge said as its eye surveyed the forest. _"If memory serves, another mile east of here will bring us to a village by the ocean. If our goal is to get to Mistral and collect my first shard, we could take over one of the ships heading there. And better yet, the villagers there will serve as a pleasant collection of souls to absorb."_

This appeared to lift Nightmare's spirits, and he grinned underneath his helmet as he dislodged Soul Edge from the stump. He briefly took a moment to graze his giant claw over the second weapon he had obtained, this one being a trophy he took from the drunk he had defeated. Smirking at the memory, he let out a low cackle before he made his way towards the direction the cursed blade claimed the village stood, ignoring the faint cries of protest in the corner of his mind.

Eventually, with the shattered moon right above his head, the azure knight came to a stop on top of a cliff. The moon's mysterious light bathed his armor, giving it an unworldly glow. The blue armor contrasted with his demonically red eyes, and if any of the people down in the village below bothered to look up, they would freeze at the sight of two small red orbs glaring down at them.

The village looked peaceful, even Nightmare had to admit. No doubt it was a friendly community, one where everything was right in the world. He could imagine it now, the flames consuming the buildings, the cries of mercy as villagers fell to his blade, the pile of bodies that would build up in the town square. No doubt it would also attract multiple Grimm, so that any survivors, as unlikely that would be, would be picked off by the ferocious beasts. He grinned underneath his helmet, before turning his eyes to the ocean ahead. In the faint distance, he could barely make out the shape of a boat. Assuming they would obviously attempt to investigate what happened to the village, he could board it and kill all the sailors save for a few, which he could use to take him to Haven. Once there, he would butcher the remaining sailors and find Cinder.

It seemed like a decent plan, so that's the one he chose. Picking up a dead branch from another tree he cut down, he searched for a way to make it into a torch. After finding a decent sized rock, he lifted Soul Edge before bringing it down against the rock, scraping along its side. The collision got the reaction Nightmare wanted, and a few sparks burst out and landed on the branch, setting it on fire and effectively creating a torch.

Making his way back towards the edge of the cliff, he stared down at the village for a moment before bringing back the arm that held the torch. With a grunt, he threw the torch as hard as he could into the village and waited.

He was satisfied when the torch almost immediately lit one of the wooden shacks on fire, and soon after the flames began to spread, much to the panic of any villagers still awake.

Taking this as his opportunity, the demonic warrior leaped off the edge of the cliff, aiming his sword down as he prepared to take the life of the first victim.

The elderly woman he had set his eyes on never saw it coming, and in an instant Soul Edge vertically cleaved her in half with such a tremendous amount of force that her two halves were sent flying in opposite directions. This caught the immediate attention of the townsfolk as they glanced away from the fire in horror. Standing there was a monster, a demon straight from hell. And the look in its eyes said that it wanted nothing more than for all of them to die.

All letting out terrified shrieks, the villagers scattered like rats as they tried to save themselves from the monster that charged at them. A mother picked up her child, only to be stabbed through the heart. A couple of the men picked up their primitive weaponry and attempted to face off against the creature. Nightmare just laughed, and made short work of them with Soul Edge. With each kill, he felt himself growing stronger as he absorbed their souls. He picked up a young man with his giant claw, crushing him effortlessly and tossing his broken corpse towards the ocean, the body landing with a _splash._

Meanwhile, the flames spread quicker than anticipated, and soon half of the village was on fire. It was glorious to watch.

 _'No, please! You can't do this, they're innocent people! STOP THIS!'_

"QUIET!" Nightmare roared as he crushed a woman's skull, his cursed blade stabbing through another. The begging didn't stop, but it did grow softer, as if losing hope. 'Good,' Nightmare thought. 'A coward like that has no right to protest.'

He made his way towards the center of town, slicing through any villager in his way. He spared a glance to the approaching ship, and confirmed that it was indeed heading towards the village to investigate. Grinning, he ran his blade through another elderly man, before swiping up the girl next to him with his gigantic claw. He laughed as she struggled in vain to free herself, pounding on his claw and squirming like a snake on fire.

"No, please!" she shrieked. "L-L-Let me GO! YOU MONSTER!"

Nightmare chuckled and gazed into her eyes with his red ones. "Poor choice of words," he tauntingly snarled, before throwing the woman towards a building with all his strength. The sound of her body crashing through was music to his ears, and he had no doubts that the girl was dead.

"CELLA!" a woman, presumably the girl's mother, screamed as she fell to her knees. Nightmare grinned and began stalking towards her, when something caught his eye. Turning around, he saw... Oh God, it had to be those kids again...

"To see them again so soon," he rumbled. "It's unexpected, but this should prove amusing." Grinning like a mad man, he readied Soul Edge and prepared for the battle that was to come. "But I've grown much stronger since killing that drunken fool. I will not fail this time!"

...

"Nora, shoot him!" Ruby commanded as she continued her charge towards Nightmare. Nora nodded and shifted Magnhild into its grenade launcher form. She quickly fired two canisters of pink dust at the monster. Nightmare swung his sword and blocked the first, but the second connected, sending him skidding back a couple of yards as he grunted in pain. Right then, Ruby leaped up and swung Crescent Rose down onto him. It connected, further sending the knight back. But the second time she swung, he deflected it, and sent her back with a brutal kick to her abdomen.

Ruby collided with Nora, sending the two of them sprawling to the ground. They scrambled up, just in time to dodge roll away from Nightmare's swing. Nightmare then turned his attention to Nora as she swung her mighty hammer at him. He caught it with his claw, and used the girl's own momentum to toss her away like trash. Then, he felt Ruby's scythe connect with the back of his head. Whipping around, he caught her off guard by smacking her with the side of Soul Edge, causing her to land painfully on her rear.

Ruby staggered to her feet, eyes narrowed in determination as she stared at her opponent. Nightmare glared back, his eyes briefly shifting to Nora as she stumbled over to Ruby, catching her balance and once again shifting Magnhild into its grenade launcher form. "You children are such a bother," he growled. "Are you really that determined to try to stop me?" He then remembered something Soul Edge had told him a few days before, something that mentioned the 'servants' of the cursed blade. Perhaps... "You and I both have a common enemy," he reasoned, testing the waters. "Cinder Fall. Together, we can destroy her! It's pointless to try to resist."

"Not a chance if it means killing innocent people!" Ruby hissed. "We haven't lost hope in you, Jaune. But if we somehow have to beat the sense back into you, then so be it!"

Well, it was worth a shot.

Suddenly, Nora fired canister after canister at Nightmare, forcing him to either block or dodge. Right then, Ruby used her semblance to launch herself towards Nightmare. She dealt several glancing blows to him, but nothing that could cause any serious damage. But she then leaped back as Nightmare swung, and Nora took this opportunity hit him with her hammer. Nightmare dodged this, punching the viking girl and sending her back. Ruby slid on her knees to avoid Nora, using Crescent Rose's recoil to fly over the azure knight. She then fired dust round after dust round, but all were effortlessly blocked by her opponent. She was then caught in an uppercut that sent her sky high, and she landed on a rooftop. Nightmare jumped onto the roof as well, charging forward in an attempt to run the young girl through.

Ruby used her semblance to rush behind him, where she attempted a blow to his head. Nightmare deflected this, but right then Nora was back into the battle, appearing out of nowhere and catching him in an upward swing.

Well, that was the plan, at least.

Instead, to the girls' shock, their opponent pulled out a _second_ blade and used it to deflected Nora's attack, before shoving away Ruby.

Ruby and Nora found their footing and stood next to each other, staring at Nightmare cautiously. But that's when the scythe wielder noticed the new sword Nightmare held in his hands.

 _No...No, no, no!_

"T-That's Uncle Qrow's weapon..." Ruby gasped, her confidence flickering away. "W-Why do you have Uncle Qrow's weapon, Jaune...?"

Nightmare spared a glance at the sword. "Oh, that old drunk was your uncle?" he questioned before he began to laugh. "It makes sense. I take it he's the one who trained you?"

"..." Ruby didn't say anything, her eyes wide as she slowly put the pieces together.

"Well, I suppose it should be easy to kill you, considering how quickly I killed him."

And there it was, Ruby's suspicions confirmed. She let out a choked sob as she fell to her knees, her hand covering her mouth as tears poured from her silver eyes. 'No...' she thought. 'That's impossible...'

"...Ruby?" Nora whispered as she watched her friend, but right then she noticed Nightmare charging towards them. "RUBY!" Nora quickly yanked the younger girl out of the way just as Nightmare's cursed blade crashed into the spot they once stood. However, the impact caused the roof they were standing on to cave in, and all three fell into the building.

Nora landed painfully,and she groaned as she waited for the dust to settle down. She attempted to stand, but a cry of pain as she felt something sharp inside her. Looking down, she noticed that she had landed on a wooden spike created from the collapsed roof, and it had went right through her, its bloody tip poking out from the side of her stomach. The pain was unlike anything she had felt before, even more than when she was almost crushed during her first encounter with Nightmare.

Speaking of the azure knight, he was currently standing over her with glee, Soul Edge raised high above his head.

"...J-Jaune..." Nora whispered sadly as she stared into the eyes of what was once her friend.

"I was robbed of the chance to kill you once," Nightmare growled. "It won't happen this time."

Nora gasped, and her eyes shifted around the room for anything that could help her. But unfortunately, Ruby was unconscious a few feet away, half buried a pile of rubble. Nora began to weep as she realized that there was nothing to save her, and that she was going to die right now.

'Ren...' she thought. 'I wish I told you...how I felt...'

But then something caught her eye. Something that appeared to be in her reach, something that could save her.

Crocea Mors.

With a last burst of adrenaline, Nora reached out and grabbed Jaune's former weapon of choice, still in its sheath, and used it to briefly deflect Nightmare's would be finishing blow. It barely worked, as Soul Edge nicked off a few of her hairs. "WHAT?!" Nightmare roared as the girl deflected his attack.

Thinking quickly, Nora forced herself up, screeching as the wooden spike tore through her. But she endured it and collapsed onto her knees. Nightmare turned to her in anger, but right then Nora unsheathed Crocea Mors and using the last ounce of her strength, she stabbed it right through Nightmare's foot, pinning him to the spot.

Nightmare howled in pain, and Nora took this as her chance. Yanking the unconscious Ruby out of the rubble, Nora forced herself to ignore the pain and rise to her feet. Hobbling away while dragging Ruby, she quickly made her way out of the destroyed building and began to weakly make her escape. However, this proved difficult as her vision became blurry due to blood loss. But she still kept moving forward, she had to get away, she had to save Ruby. She _had_ to...

But right then, she collapsed onto her knees, blood continuing to leak from her wound. Her vision began to fade as she spared a glance at the still unconscious Ruby. "I...I'm sorry, Ruby..." she whispered, before fully submitting to her injuries.

The last thing she saw was a eerie red and black hole appear out of nowhere, and the last thing she felt were two arms drag her towards it.

...

Nightmare grunted as he yanked Crocea Mors out of his foot. He glared at it hatefully, before crushing it in his claw. He tossed aside the broken weapon, before limping outside. However, to his frustration he did not see the girl who caught him by surprise, instead the streets were empty save for the corpses of the villagers.

"DAMMIT!" he cursed loudly as he swung Soul Edge into the building he just exited, causing the remainder of what was standing to crumble. "How could this happen?! I killed that drunken fool, why couldn't I kill them? I had her, she was mine, I had her!"

 _"She used the same strategy you used to defeat the drunk,"_ Soul Edge explained. _"She used the element of surprise. Sometimes it is not always the stronger of the two fighters who claims victory. After all, the drunk was stronger than you at the time."_

"..." Nightmare said nothing, he was too furious.

 _"But when you think about it, you did defeat them,"_ the cursed blade continued. _"They just got lucky. It is most regrettable, being foiled like that. They could be a threat if you aren't careful."_

"I will kill them..." Nightmare growled. "Once Cinder is dead, I won't rest until they are dead. I will kill that hammer girl myself!"

 _"Calm yourself,"_ Soul Edge hissed. _"We still need to collect my shards. Those children are simply another obstacle in the way. They will fall in time."_

"You sound very sure of yourself." Nightmare grunted.

 _"Assuming you don't kill them before hand, then you surely will once all my shards are collected,"_ said Soul Edge. _"Don't take this as a personal lost, but as a preview for the victory that is to come. Oh, and the boat is here, by the way."_

Turning around, Nightmare did indeed see the ship, and he slowly made his way towards it.

The sailors never saw it coming.

Soon, only the captain and a few of his crew remained, everyone else horribly massacred by the demon that stood before them.

"Take me to Haven Academy," it hissed, before driving its bloodied sword into one of them. He tossed the dying crew member overboard, before turning back to the terrified sailors. "Or else you'll end up just like him."

...

 **Originally this was gonna end in Nora's death, but I kept her alive for the inevitable 4v4 battle coming up in a later chapter (HINT HINT). So yeah, this chapter was a bit more violent than the others, but an entire town got slaughtered so...yeah. Oh, and to avoid confusion on why Crocea Mors was magically there, remember how in an earlier chapter Ruby has it hidden in her hood. When she fell, Crocea Mors was separated from her, and luckily ended up close to Nora. Anyway, c'mon guys! There are only like four or five characters that appear in all the Soul Calibur games, and you guessed every one of them except one! It's simply a process of elimination, and I wanna just give this cookie here to someone already but I can't until someone guesses the mystery character correctly!**

 **But besides that, remember to pm me if you're interested on helping me with that OC story. Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	8. Chapter 8

**RWBY VOLUME 4 TOMORROW! HYPE HYPE HYYYYYYPE!**

 **Man, I spend way too much time away from all my stories XD Like seriously, I gotta start designing a schedule for my writing. Originally I was going to update on some other stories during this past week, but I couldn't find the proper motivation. Soooo... Here I am updating this again XD Which is pretty sweet, right? Anyway, let's do a quick recap of last chapter! Nightmare destroyed the village, Ruby and Nora tried to fight him while Ren and Blake evacuated the villagers, Nightmare revealed Qrow's death to Ruby, Nightmare nearly kills Nora, Nora escapes with Ruby, Nora passes out and is rescued by a mysterious stranger... Who is Raven :P Yeah, no surprise there.**

 **I AM SO CLOSE TO PULLING MY HAIR OUT! I almost want to tell all of you who the mystery character is simply because no one has been able to guess correctly. There are only four characters that appeared in all the core games, together all of you guys have named three of them and some characters that didn't appear until way later in the series.**

 **So how about this: If you REALLY wanna know but don't wanna keep guessing, I'll just go ahead and tell you in a pm or something. But if you still wanna take a guess, then be my...guest. Guess, guest... Weird. But anyway, onward with the next chapter!**

 **(Next person who guesses Mitsurugi is getting punched -_- I think I might've already mentioned that it wasn't him [and if I didn't then whoops] and yet he's still the most highly guessed character for some reason.)**

 **...**

"I'll be back soon," Ren reassured his faunus friend as he picked up a small child, who immediately buried herself in his chest. Her soft cries stained his shirt, but he didn't seem to notice or care. "I'll find them a safe place, then I'll hurry back. It shouldn't take anymore than a few hours, I promise."

Blake nodded. "Stay safe," she said. Ren returned the nod, before he gathered the villagers' attention and led them into the woods that surrounded the ruins of their town. One of the villagers turned back to look at her, and gave a small, sad smile before following his friends.

Blake sighed heavily as she watched the last of the surviving villagers flee from the destruction. She stood at the outskirts of the burning village, her back to the flames. Together, she and Ren managed to save a fair amount of the civilians, and as she stayed behind her fellow ninja led the people through the woods to safety. The faunus had insisted that she should escort the survivors instead due to her superior night vision, but Ren argued that he was faster, so he could lead them quicker to a safe point, and be back within a few hours at most.

She hated to admit it, but Ren was right. He _was_ faster.

Blake sighed once more and turned her amber eyes towards the destroyed town, feeling something heavy in her stomach. It was an awful sight... Just hours before, the village looked so wonderful and peaceful, but now it was all gone. At least half the townsfolk lost their lives, whether it was Nightmare or the flames he had caused. She lowered her gaze and wiped her eyes, her conversation with the old man she had met flashing in her mind.

She promised him that she would keep the village safe... And she failed.

She knew that tragedy was something a huntress must learn to get used to and deal with, the assault on Beacon was enough proof of that. But even then, at least they managed to hold off that threat. This...this was carnage.

Was it wrong to blame herself, at least partially? She was a faunus, her senses, even when she slept, were dozens of times greater than a human's. She should have been able to detect the danger almost immediately, they could've possibly saved more villagers...

Blake clenched her fist and shook her head. No. This wasn't her fault, she didn't need to put any amount of blame on herself. This was Nightmare's doing, he was the one to blame. Blake's amber eyes narrowed as the image of the azure knight casually murdering innocent people played in her mind. That thing...wasn't Jaune. Jaune was gone, she knew that. She didn't want to admit it, she wanted to believe he could come back just like everyone else believed. But who was she kidding? She may have never been that close to the awkward knight during their Beacon days, but she knew he was a good person, someone who always stood up for what was right even when the odds were stacked against him.

Nightmare was nothing like that boy. All traces of Jaune were gone, leaving this monster in his place. 'A monster,' thought Blake. 'That we will have to destroy. I only hope Ruby can eventually understand...'

Now that she thought about it, the village seemed awfully quiet. Anxiety began to form in her chest as she begun to fear what may have happened to Ruby and Nora during their battle with the azure knight. Glancing back at the forest Ren and the survivors vanished into, Blake bit her lip and whispered, "Hurry, Ren."

Without wasting another second, Blake rushed back into the village, hoping that her friends were alright.

...

When she reached the area they had first encountered Nightmare, she was a tad bit surprised to find it so...empty. Her feline eyes searching carefully, she attempted to find anything that could act as a trail to where the battle had led the three combatants. However, despite some signs proving that the three had in fact fought, there was no trace of her friends or Nightmare.

But then, her instincts told her to look towards the ocean. Confused, the faunus turned her head, her amber eyes widening. To the ordinary human, one would see nothing but a ship sailing away from the carnage. But due to Blake's superior vision, she could clearly make out the outline of Nightmare standing at the ship's center. She saw him turn his head towards the destroyed village, and for a moment she could've sworn he made eye contact with her.

His shoulders seemed to bob a little, as if he was laughing at her. This filled Blake with anger, and in frustration she swung Gambol Shroud at a destroyed building.

"Dammit!" she hissed. "He got away! Of all the-" She slammed her fist into the ground. "DAMMIT!"

'I'm sorry,' she thought as she remembered the old man she had met. 'I couldn't keep my promise. I failed you...I failed this village.'

Then, a realization popped into her head. If Nightmare made it onto a ship, then... Then that meant...

Blake gasped and scrambled to her feet, amber eyes scanning the area desperately. "Ruby!" she cried out. "Nora!"

Her fears were possibly proving to be true with every passing second. Rushing towards the nearest building, she kicked the door down and searched it thoroughly. "Ruby?" she called. "Nora? Are you two in here?"

No answer.

Growling in fear and frustration, she sprinted out and practically dived into the house across the building she had just left. Nothing was here either, except the burnt corpse of a young child. Blake felt sick to her stomach as she stared at the grim sight. She turned her head away and attempted to hold in the bile that was threatening to pour out of her mouth. Swallowing it, she exited the house and searched for another potential spot her friends could've ended up.

Then she spotted a collapsed building, looking as if something heavy broke through it. Something _really_ heavy. 'Nightmare, maybe?' Blake wondered, before jogging towards it. As she got closer, she noticed signs that indicated that her friends could've been fighting Nightmare here. The roof looked like it was manually destroyed instead of collapsing normally, and she could see Nightmare's heavy footsteps leading out of it and towards the harbor, where he must've gotten a hold of that ship. So that meant...

Blake took a deep breath and entered the ruined building, preparing for the worse. If Ruby and Nora were still in there, she had no idea if they would be alive or dead. She prayed they were alive, but she doubted Nightmare would spare them if he won the battle.

'Ruby, Nora...' she thought as she clutched Gambol Shroud's handle tighter. 'Please be alright.'

The building was empty, as far as she could tell. In one corner, there was a pile of rubble that looked like it had been disturbed. She could see some splatters of blood on the ground, so someone must've been hurt badly. She glanced towards on side, then downwards, noting the large wooden spike that was sticky with someone's blood. Blake felt herself stiffen. Someone fell on top of that and was stabbed.

Her foot kicked against something, startling Blake enough to jump back. Glancing down, she recognized the empty sheath that also functioned as a shield. Picking it up, she held it gingerly and studied it, before pressing the switch that transformed it into a shield. She placed the shield on the pile of rubble, before scratching her cheek.

"If you're empty," she began. "Then...where's your sword?"

As if on cue, a sudden glint caught her amber eyes. Turning her head, she barely held back a gasp. Laying there, broken into several pieces, was Jaune's former weapon, Crocea Mors. Blake took a few steps towards it, before falling to her knees. She picked up one of its shards, frowning at the sight of it. How? She may have not been the closest to Jaune, but she knew his weapon was strong. Hell, it apparently had enough force to decapitate an ursa with a single stroke! So how could it break like this?

She shouldn't have been questioning it. She knew it could have only been Nightmare. But how did he get a hold of Crocea Mors? Ruby always had it hidden in her hood...

...oh no...

"Ruby!" Blake yelled, jumping to her feet. She observed the room again, and suddenly she could paint an image in her head of what it might have very well looked like.

They must have been fighting on the roof, she guessed. Then, somehow they broke through, one of them landing in the rubble while the other landed on the wooden spike. One of them must have tried to use Crocea Mors as a last resort, but Nightmare defeated them. He then must have snapped the sword, before he...

No! There was no way he killed them! Ruby and Nora were stronger than that! They somehow persevered, they had to!

That was what Blake forced herself to believe, anyway. Stumbling out of the building with Crocea Mors' sheath in hand, she forced herself to take deep breaths and calm down. She didn't find any bodies in that building, which means that one way or the other, Ruby and Nora got out. But where were they now? She didn't see any sign of them around the village. She glanced down, noticing the trail of blood. Ruby's? Nora's? Figuring it was her best lead, she followed it, hoping it would lead her to the missing girls.

When the trail finally ended, Blake glanced up and saw...nothing? Amber eyes blinked in confusion. Nothing?! How was that even possible?! Did they just magically teleport to safety?!

But then, much to her surprise, something appeared right in front of her out of thin air. Jumping back with Gambol Shroud ready, she observed the mysterious...thing with caution. It appeared to be some kind of portal, made up of a swirling mass of red and black. Blake inched closer towards it, amber eyes narrowing. "Where did you come from?" she asked, as if it would somehow answer her.

Then suddenly, she felt a force on her back, and before she could react she was shoved straight through the portal.

...

When she came through, Blake immediately noticed her surroundings seemed to be...a hospital, maybe?

Confused, she turned back to the portal, but instead only saw a strange woman staring back at her.

"Who are you?" Blake demanded, ready to attack if this woman proved to be any sort of threat. "Where are we?"

The woman's red eyes blinked through her intimidating Grimm mask, before she let out an inaudible sigh and slowly removed the mask. Her black hair cascaded down her back, and her beautiful, youthful face was presented. What really put Blake on edge was how much the woman resembled Yang.

"My name is Raven Branwen," the woman introduced. "And right now, you are in a small hospital in Mistral."

"Mistral?" Blake repeated, before her eyes widened. "Where's Ruby? And Nora, too?"

The woman, apparently named Raven, nodded her head towards Blake's direction, prompting the faunus to turn around and take another look at the hospital beds. She gasped when she saw both Ruby and Nora on a bed, Nora's midsection being heavily bandaged. Taking a step towards her friends, she bit her lip before asking, "What happened to them?"

"I don't know," Raven admitted. "I arrived after the battle was over. When I found them, the girl with the scythe was unconscious, while the ginger was trying to carry her to safety but passed out due to a large amount of blood loss. If I hadn't arrived when I did, she would've died."

Blake nodded, before taking Ruby's hand in her own, and then Nora's in her other. "I'm so happy you're safe," she whispered, before turning back to Raven. "What about Ren?"

"The green one?" Raven guessed, and Blake nodded. "After he got the villagers to safety, I brought him here as well." She nodded her head towards the door. "He's just outside."

As soon as the words left Raven's mouth, Ren entered the hospital room, now just putting his scroll away. "I was just talking to Sun," he explained. "I let him know about our situation, he's coming here as fast as he can."

"Did you let him know about Nightmare?" Blake asked. Ren shook his head.

"I figured we would tell him everything once he arrived."

Blake nodded, before turning back to Raven. "And I have some questions for you," she said.

"I'm sure you do," Raven replied. "But that can wait for when your teammates wake up. It may take a couple hours, they took heavy damage from their battle with that creature."

"Can you at least tell us why you were there?" Ren asked, sitting down on a chair next to Nora's bed.

"I suppose," the older woman decided. "I was there because I was searching for my twin brother, Qrow."

"Qrow?" Blake echoed. "As in, Ruby's uncle?"

Raven nodded, and Ren rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Then that would make you Yang Xiao Long's mother, correct?" he assumed.

Raven nodded again, her mouth twisting into the slightest of smirks. "You're a smart one," she praised. "Yes, I am Yang's mother."

"You're..." Blake whispered. She debated asking the woman why she had abandoned Yang, but she felt like that should be saved for later.

"Unfortunately," Raven continued. "I discovered by brother's corpse in the middle of the woods." She got a hollow look in her red eyes. "Apparently, he was killed in battle..."

The news hit Blake and Ren like a freight train. Qrow was..dead? Killed in battle? The two ninjas glanced at each other, both having a good idea about who must have killed him. "Nightmare," they breathed in unison.

"So that's what the wielder of Soul Edge calls himself?" Raven asked, before answering her own question with a solemn nod. "So he really has returned..."

"You know of the legend?" Blake wondered.

"Kid, there's not a veteran hunter alive who hasn't heard about it," Raven deadpanned. "The legendary Soul Edge, a sword whose power is so great it snatches the souls of those it kills."

"He's heading here," Ren explained. "Nightmare was once our friend, Jaune. Jaune's love was killed by a woman named Cinder, who was responsible for the fall of Beacon."

"Cinder is apparently hiding somewhere in Haven," Blake added. "We were going there to stop her, Jaune most of all. But somehow he stumbled upon Soul Edge and became Nightmare."

"...and so this Nightmare now has a desire for revenge against Cinder," Raven finished before they could further explain. "Hm... That's interesting, although I'm afraid revenge might not be the only reason he's after her."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm well aware who Cinder is," Raven said. "And I know that she's the one who has the fall maiden's powers. I may be strong, perhaps stronger than my brother, but I know I would die if I challenged a maiden. That's the only reason I haven't confronted her yet."

"So what does this have to do with Nightmare hunting her down?" Blake questioned. "Since he isn't female, he wouldn't receive her powers by killing her."

"Tell me," said Raven. "What happens at the end of the story of Soul Edge?"

Ren thought for a moment, before nodding slowly. "The sword was broken into several pieces after its wielder was killed," he told her.

Raven gave a grunt of confirmation. "Well...Did you know that they say those shards ended up becoming fused with the souls of different people?" she asked. Blake and Ren shook their heads, so Raven explained it to them. "There was a rumor long ago that some of the shards of Soul Edge ended up becoming attached to certain people, and one of them was thought to be the fall maiden. Following the logic that whoever kills the fall maiden shall receive all of their power, one could say they'd receive the shard from Soul Edge as well."

The atmosphere was heavy as Blake and Ren began putting the pieces together, before Blake let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "So..." she started slowly. "You're saying...Cinder has a piece of Soul Edge inside her?"

"And that Nightmare wants it back?" continued Ren.

Raven nodded again, before sighing. "They say that once all the shards of Soul Edge are collected, the sword will once again reenter its true form, and that Remnant will stand no chance." She looked at the two ninjas, her gaze hardened. "So whatever your reasons for going after Cinder were, this is much, much bigger. We need to defeat Nightmare before he collects all of the shards. And if not that, then we will have to find all the shards and guard them with our lives." Her red eyes narrowed. "And you two, along with all your comrades, will have to be the ones to do it."

"Wait, what?!"

The three whipped their heads around to see Sun Wukong perched on the window sill, his eyes wide with disbelief.

...

 _"You seem rather confident, Salem. Are you that sure Cinder will prevail?"_

 _"Whether she prevails or not, it doesn't matter, Ozpin. I have a plan for both outcomes, although I won't lie when I say I'm leaning towards the side of Soul Edge. You see, it will be a much quicker plan than the one I had before. With Nightmare destroying Remnant, the staggering amount of panic and fear will lead to the biggest Grimm invasion the world has ever witnessed. From there, I will use that power to claim the throne of Remnant, I will rule all over the wasteland. And you will watch it all happen before your very eyes, Ozpin."_

 _"It seems your plan has a lot of risks, Salem. I expected better. I have complete faith that the children will stop your plans, one way or the other."_

 _"Oh Ozpin, how naive you are. No matter. I'll allow you to cling to your hopes just a bit longer..."_

 _..._

 **Aaaaaand done! Also, all of my friends want me to join Pottermore (even though I'm not a fan of the series) just so they can finally end the debate on which house I'm in. So far most think I'm either Hufflepuff or Slytherin. I say fuck the Harry Potter series, it's trash. Yeah, fight me! But I care about my friends so I'll do it for them. Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy Halloween, everyone! So sorry my updates have been slow, I've been EXTREMELY busy as of late, so I haven't been having nearly enough time to actually write. And with my birthday coming up as well... Things are gonna get hectic .-. But if things go my way, Angel in Disguise should be updated sometime this week, so there's that to look forward to. Hopefully.**

 **Anyway, after watching Volume 4, I'm sure many of us are curious about these new characters. And since this story is taking place after Volume 3, there is one question some people have been asking: Will I be adding any of these new characters into the story. And the answer? HA! Nope! Well, not most of them. After all, I don't feel like changing my entire plot line just for the sake of some new characters (yeah, screw you, Watts). However, there is one or two characters I will be adding...**

 **It's Whitley and Klein. Not even gonna apologize XD**

 **ALSO ALLOW ME TO THANK THE THREE PEOPLE WHO GUESSED THE SOUL CALIBUR CHARACTER CORRECTLY OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU!**

 **...**

 _"You've been making so much progress, Jaune... You're an inspiration, you know."_

 _"Heh...No need to lie, Pyrrha."_

 _"What? I'm not lying! You've grown so much, Jaune. Believe me, I couldn't be prouder."_

 _"...Thanks, Pyrrha. I could've never gotten this far within you, I'm glad I got you as a partner."_

 _"You're welcome, Jaune..."_

 _"...Is something wrong?_

 _"I...Nothing, it's nothing."_

 _"Are you sure?"_

 _"Jaune, I just want you to know that you're the kindest, most noble man I've ever met in my life. And I want you to know that I will always be here for you, no matter what. Please, don't ever forget that."_

 _"Pyrrha..."_

Nightmare's eyes slowly opened as the memory faded away, a frown forming underneath his dark helmet. He lifted his claw hand, staring at it blankly as he clenched it open and shut. A low growl sounded from his throat, and he sat up from the corner of the ship he had been sleeping him. He reached for Soul Edge, lifting it up and letting the early morning sun reveal its true shine.

The eye flickered open and glanced down at the azure knight. _"Does something trouble you?"_ it asked.

Nightmare shook his head as he lowered his blade. "It's nothing," he hissed. "Just memories."

 _"Of the boy you once were?"_ the sword guessed, which Nightmare confirmed with a nod. The sword almost seemed annoyed at its wielder's answer. _"Are you truly that weak willed that the boy's mere emotions overpower you?"_

Nightmare angrily stood up and thrust the sword the the floor, sticking it in place. "That is not true!" he roared. "I am much more powerful than the weak minded fool! I will succeed where he has failed!" He leaned in close, glaring at the sword. "I will kill Cinder, and rid that boy of his futile attempts to break free. I swear it."

Soul Edge blinked. _"Good."_ it said, before its eye shifted towards the side. _"You should probably go check on the crew, make sure they're still working."_

Nightmare scoffed. "Those idiots fear me too much to even dare stop," he explained. "They'll work as hard as I want, or they'll die trying. We're almost to Haven, we can't afford to slow down."

 _"But you still plan to kill them once we reach our destination?"_

Nightmare grinned and nodded.

...

"So...let me get this straight," Sun said as he began pacing around the hospital room. "You guys decided to walk all the way to Mistral to catch that woman who led the fall of Beacon, who is apparently infiltrating our school..." He paused, tapping his chin before continuing. "And then, Good guy Jaune happens to stumble upon a sword thought to only exist in fairy tales, and it turned him into the monster that did..." he sadly gestured his tail towards Ruby and Nora, who had both woken up earlier and were now sitting quietly in their beds. "...this. You guys were rescued by Blake, and somehow Jaune killed Ruby's uncle along the way..."

Ruby visibly flinched at the mention of that last part, and the monkey faunus felt a pang of guilt for sounding so insensitive. "Anyway..." he took another breath. "Jaune ended up following you guys, destroying an entire town in the process. You guys were all rescued by Yang's mom, but now Jaune is taking a ship here to Haven in order to kill this Cinder lady and basically everyone else." He blinked. "Right?"

"More or less," Raven replied.

"Then what do we do?" Sun asked.

"I think we must prepare," Ren answered. Everyone looked at him, silently asking him to explain. "There's little we can do to stop Nightmare," he explained. He pointed to himself, then his three travelling companions. "The four of us alone were barely able to survive his assault, and he would've killed Nora and Ruby if it wasn't for Raven's rescue and Nora's quick thinking." He allowed his words to sink in before continuing. "Alone, none of us stand a chance except possibly Raven. But if we could gather all of Haven's students together and prepare, we will have a chance of taking down Nightmare."

"...and stopping Cinder as well," Blake finished. "After all, it's her against all of us _and_ Nightmare."

"I have to admit, it sounds like our best bet," Raven said. She smirked at Ren. "You're a pretty decent strategist, kid. Give it a few years and you'll be one hell of a hunter."

"...but will it be enough...?" Nora whispered to herself, sharing a sad look with Ruby.

"Alright, I'll go back to Haven to help get this plan underway," Sun told his friends. "And I'll also be on the lookout for this Cinder girl, I think I may have seen her around before." He turned to his fellow faunus, offering a hand. "Wanna come, Blake?"

Blake nodded, taking his hand and heading towards the door. "We'll give you a status update when we can," she called over her shoulder. She then turned her attention to Ruby, calling out her name.

The scythe wielder glanced up, and Blake reassuringly said, "I know it's hard, Ruby. I've lost close people too." She gave a sympathetic smile. "If you need to talk about anything, I'm always here for you."

Ruby nodded. "Thanks, Blake..." she mumbled, attempting to return the smile. It quickly faltered when Blake left and closed the door behind her.

Ruby sighed, then tensed up when she felt two arms wrap around her. She looked up and was surprised to see that it was Raven who hugged her from behind. Ruby was about to say something, but stopped when the older woman began stroking her hair.

"I was a mother once, you know," she explained. "I may have been gone for a long time, but I still know a thing or two." She rested her chin atop Ruby's head. "I know he was important to you," she said. "Qrow was important to me too. Even though we disagreed on many things, he was still my brother." She paused, as if considering her words. "But unfortunately, Qrow isn't coming back. Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby. And sadly, there's nothing you can do about it."

Ruby bit her lip. "That's just what Yang said before I left," she muttered.

Raven nodded. "She's my daughter, after all," she joked, before returning to the serious matter. "The best we can do is move on and become stronger, Ruby. Don't let the news of Qrow's death drag you down. Instead, use it to push yourself. Become stronger, wiser, just like Qrow would want you to be."

Ruby nodded slowly. Raven was right, she decided. Tears weren't going to bring her uncle back, nothing would. That's why... That's why she was going to become stronger! She was going to stop Cinder and Nightmare, she's going to set thing right again!

Raven must have sensed this, because she let out a low chuckle. "Atta, girl."

Nora smiled at the admittedly heartwarming scene as Ren sat down next to her. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

The viking girl stopped smiling and shook her head. "I just..." She sighed. "I just wish I was stronger. Ruby and I nearly died, we only survived due to Crocea Ex Machina, and I just can't help but think..." She bit her lip and glanced away. "I can't help but think of Nightmare as Jaune. That's what hurt the most. That thing that should've killed us was _Jaune._ My leader, my teammate..." Her eyes began to water. "My friend."

Ren frowned, not liking this Nora. He missed the happy, quirky Nora. The one whose only worry in the world was whether or not they had pancakes. This was a different Nora, one who had to witness her best friend fall into darkness.

He pulled his childhood friend in a hug, rubbing her back softly. "I promise you, Nora," he murmured. "We'll get Jaune back. I don't care what it takes, but this journey isn't over until we have our leader back."

"I hope so, Ren..." Nora mumbled. "I really, really hope so."

'...but what if it's all for nothing?' a voice in the back of her head wondered.

...

"Now that I think about it, the headmaster probably won't believe our story," Sun muttered as he and Blake stepped out of the hospital. "I mean, it _does_ sound kinda crazy when you think about it."

"Well believe it or not, it's what happened," countered Blake. "I don't think it matters whether or not everyone believes us, as long as we can assemble a strong enough fighting force, we stand a chance."

Sun tapped his chin thoughtfully before shrugging. "Well, I know my team will believe you," he told her. "Neptune and Sage have been itching for some action and the tale of Soul Edge is Scarlet's favorite childhood story. I think Team ABRN may also believe you."

"We may need more than that," Blake said. "Anyone else who may believe us?"

"Um... Team BBLE, Team IYCE, Team SMWK, and maybe Team ORNG?"

...Blake wasn't sure how she felt about those names...

She nodded. "Then we have a fair chance," she decided. "We should probably get a ride back to Haven. Do you know when the next bullhead will arrive?"

Her fellow faunus nodded. "Yeah, should be here in about five minutes," he told her.

"Good."

"Hey...Blake?"

Blake hummed, turning to her friend.

Sun had a slight blush on his face, glancing away briefly before chuckling awkwardly. "It's really great to see you again," he admitted. "I...I really missed you, y'know." The tailed faunus scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he gave his crush a charming smile.

Blake felt her cheeks heat up slightly before she smiled as well. "I missed you too, Sun," she replied honestly. "It's nice to see you again."

The two faunus stared at each other for a few moments, before Sun slowly began to lean in. Blake gulped, eyes widening before she too began leaning closer, amber eyes slowly closing...

Suddenly, the two were driven apart as someone forced through them in a rush, nearly knocking the two over. The person, a diminutive sized teenager themed in all black. The girl spared a glance at them, her green eyes unreadable, before she suddenly sprinted away, seemingly vanishing from view, much to the confusion of the two hunters.

"Well...That was a bit rude," Sun coughed after a few more moments of silence.

Blake nodded in agreement. "She could have at least apologized," she muttered, before turning back to the monkey faunus. "We should probably get to the bullhead," she suggested, her voice laced with disappointment of their stolen moment.

Sun awkwardly shuffled his feet. "Y-Yeah," he agreed. "Let's get going."

Hoping to put that near romantic moment behind them, the two teens quickly hurried to the bullhead that had just landed. However, the thought of what could have been still remained, as much as Blake wanted to forget about it. As much as she liked Sun, she wasn't sure she could be with him. Not yet, at least. No... There were still bigger fish to fry, namely Nightmare and Cinder.

But maybe, once it was all over... They could try to make it work.

...

Neo silently cursed as she reappeared inside the dorm room she shared with Mercury and the others. She recognized that faunus girl... Blake Belladonna, former member of Team RWBY, one of the strongest and most dangerous teams in Beacon Academy.

What was left of it, anyway.

But if Blake Belladonna was _here,_ did that mean Red was here too? Neo felt herself grow angry at the mention of the bitch that killed Roman, and she punched the wall next to her out of frustration. Goddammit! If Red was here, then the plan was in danger! Hell, Neo wasn't even sure what the plan was, but she sure as hell knew the little brat could ruin it!

'Don't worry about them, she says,' Neo thought bitterly as she remembered Cinder's words. 'They're no longer a threat, she says!'

What if their covers were blown? Then what? If word got out about them, all of Remnant would know their names, and there wouldn't be a single place they could hide. Well, Neo was fairly sure _she_ could hide, but Mercury wasn't exactly known for his sneaking skills. Good God, Neo seriously wanted to punch Cinder in the face right now! The ice cream themed girl _knew_ hiding in Haven would be a bad idea, but no one ever listened to her! Was it because she never talked?

...probably.

Neo heard the door open, and she whipped around with her parasol ready for combat. However, it was just Mercury, who was looking her up and down with a bored expression. The short villain sighed and lowered her weapon, before pulling out her scroll and typing a message into it.

 **We have a problem.**

Mercury raised an eyebrow. "We?" he asked. "Or you?"

Neo gave him a dirty look, and Mercury gulped.

"I mean...What's the problem?"

Neo's fingers moved at blurring speed as she typed her response. She then flipped the scroll around and let her fellow criminal read it.

 **I just saw Blake Belladonna of Team RWBY here.**

Mercury's eyebrows furrowed. "Well damn," he mumbled. "But is that really it? I mean, if it's just her..."

 **There is that chance, but I'm willing to guess that Red is here too. And if that's true, then our entire plan can be ruined.**

Mercury groaned and collapsed on his bed. "Well that's just great," he sarcastically hissed. "I guess we ought to tell Cinder, right?"

Neo nodded, then bit her lip. **Probably. Although...**

Mercury sighed as he read the message. "Although what, Neo?"

 **I can't help but feel like this is all connected to all the dreams we've been having. About that guy with the scary sword.**

Mercury shook his head. "How'd you even come to that conclusion?" he wondered. "And besides...Aren't they just dreams?"

Neo shrugged. **It's just a thought.** she typed. **And are they? We've both been having them for several nights now, both are completely identical too. If you ask me, that doesn't sound like ordinary dreaming to me.**

"I guess that's true..."

 **Didn't you say you'd try to do research on them? Didn't you find anything?**

The assassin shrugged. "I didn't find much," he explained. "Just some old junk about a silly fairy tale."

A harsh cuff over the head made him yelp. "What was that for?!" he demanded, glaring at his roommate.

 **Idiot!** Neo typed. **The whole seasonal maidens deal was a silly fairy tale too until you went after that Amber girl, right? All legends have some layer of truth, so who is to say this fairy tale is just silly?**

...damn, Mercury really hated it when Neo was right.

The silver boy sighed, and grumbled something before nodding. "Apparently there was this sword called Soul Edge..."

...

 _Maaaaaster... He neeeeears..._

 _He comes closer, cloooooooserrrr...by...boAt?_

 _BOaT...yesssss... He approaches soooooon..._

 _I must set out... I mmmmmust find MAaaasTER!_

 _Soon...WE SHAll bE reunited... Master...and seeeervant..._

 _Sssssssooooouuuulllll...Edgeeeeeeeeee..._

 _It's been... ToO LoNG..!_

A chilling cackle, one that sounded muffled and like it came from out of the throat, echoed throughout the darkness of the cave. Slowly, a horrid creature slithered out, its pale body moving in disorienting and sexual ways. Sightless eyes gazed up towards the sky, adjusting to the sudden light after spending decades hiding away in the cave. Finally, it let out a throaty cheer, before it fell to all fours, crawling away while wriggling its exposed rear.

The time has come for it to return to the world of men. It would reunite with the Soul Edge, no matter what.

It was destined to serve that cursed blade...

...and it wouldn't have it any other way.

...

 **Aaaand that's a wrap! It's really fucking late right now and I have school in the morning, so I should probably get some sleep. Anyway, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the reviews! And remember, stay wykkyd!**

 **Also sorry for the shortness, this chapter (along with others) mostly acts as build up, 'cause we're gonna get wild soon! But we gotta get through the boring stuff before that can happen :( (Well, at least I don't find it boring...)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Awww yes, chapter double digits, everybody! Also! It's super friggin cold right now and my fingers are freezing as I'm typing this :') Colorado is the worst. At least we have weed... Not saying that I smoke weed... *suspicious side glance* Yeah, totally...**

 **Anyway! For those who might have not picked it up yet, last chapter I finally introduced the other Soul Calibur character :P So no need to guess anymore at this point, you guys can figure out now. I've actually received some...*cough*** ** _interesting_** **PM's regarding my decision. And if THAT was the response...then I guess my goal of pissing off everybody was a success XD Woohoo!**

 **But with all of that said and done, let's move on to the next chapter! (Also I need to find some mittens or something because I'm pretty sure my fingers aren't supposed to be this shade of blue...)**

 **...**

She was definitely more impressive than her previous model, General Ironwood noted.

The training simulation this new Penny was being put through was designed to overpower even the most seasoned of hunters, not even Winter herself was able to clear it. But yet this artificial girl, powered by a shard of Soul Edge itself, was passing with flying colors.

A smile formed on the general's face as Penny sliced through an ursa major, its black body dissolving into numerous bits of data. Penny grinned as she flipped over a beowolf that was meaning to take her head off. Her swords formed into the shape of a buzz saw, and she sent it hurling towards the data-grimm. The grimm howled as its body was shredded to bits, and the swords came flying back to the young robot as she delivered a harsh kick to a boarbatusk, causing it to flip over onto its back. The swords returned to Penny, and she drove two of them through the boarbatusk's exposed stomach.

Ironwood glanced at the timer above him. It had just passed the two minute mark. His eyes widened slightly as they shifted from the timer to the training simulation, back and forth. The training simulation contained seven waves of enemies, and the most successful hunters in it have been able to complete five out of seven, each wave taking roughly a minute and a half.

This was Penny's _sixth_ wave in just _two_ minutes.

"Unbelievable," he heard the scientist to his left murmur. "At this rate, she could easily become the most powerful hunter of this generation!"

"She might already be," Ironwood corrected. "End the simulation. I've seen enough."

The scientist blinked. "But sir-"

"I said end it." Ironwood repeated.

The scientist gulped and nodded, shutting off the simulation. The deathstalker Penny was about to strike down vanished into thin air, much to the confusion of the android. She glanced up towards the window Ironwood and the scientist stood behind, and a look of worry flashed across her face. She returned her swords to her backpack and waited as Ironwood disappeared from sighting, heading down the stairs towards the entrance of the simulation chamber.

The doors opened and Ironwood stepped inside. Penny shuffled her feet and glanced away from the general. "Did...Did I do something wrong, sir?" she asked nervously.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and she glanced up to see the general's smiling face. "Of course not, Penny," he assured her. "You performed wonderfully, better than any of us could have anticipated. You made us all very proud."

Penny beamed, her posture immediately straightening as she saluted. "I try my best, sir!"

Ironwood couldn't help but chuckle as he patted the girl's head. "Go take a break," he ordered. "You've earned it, and I know your father is looking forward to spending more time with you."

"Yes sir!" Penny exclaimed as she skipped away. However, she paused and glanced back at the general. "Um...Mr. Ironwood?"

"Yes?" Ironwood asked, approaching her.

"Do you..." Penny paused for a moment, hesitating. "Do you know a girl named...Ruby?"

Ironwood blinked. "Why do you ask?" he wondered.

Penny shook her head. "No reason," she said, hiccuping soon after. "Never mind, it's nothing." Another hiccup. "Bye, Mr. Ironwood!" And with that, she continued skipping away.

Ironwood frowned as he made his way back up the stairs, stopping when he saw the scientist furiously scribbling notes. "Do you mind telling me what that was about?" he asked, chewing on to end of his pen.

"She seems to be remembering her past life," Ironwood explained. "She asked me about a girl named Ruby, a friend her first model made during the Vytal Festival."

"How is that even possible?"

Ironwood shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "Perhaps a side effect of having Soul Edge inside her? There's still so much we don't know about it."

The scientist nodded. "Perhaps," he muttered, before changing the subject. "Oh, and the bullhead you requested earlier has arrived, it's waiting outside."

"Thank you," said Ironwood as he began to make his leave.

"If you don't mind me asking, general," the scientist pressed on. "Where are you going? To see Mr. Schnee again?"

The general shook his head. "I'm heading to Patch, outside of Vale," he clarified. "I'm paying someone a visit."

The scientist nodded, before returning to his notes. "We'll be waiting for you, then," he called over his shoulder.

Ironwood nodded and walked out, clasping his hands behind his back. 'I wonder how she's handling that new arm of hers?' he thought.

...

Professor Umber, the headmistress of Haven Academy, was a woman who was apparently supposed to be in her mid fifties, but she still looked like a beautiful model still in her early twenties. She had light brown hair that was in a boy cut, chocolate colored skin, and a bust that would've made Yang Xiao Long jealous. However, one shouldn't assume her character based on looks alone. Similar to Glynda Goodwitch, she was a stern, hardworking woman with no appreciation for funny business.

And this...This is something she considered funny business.

Rubbing her temples, she glared at the two faunus in front of her in annoyance. "So let me get this straight," she hissed. "Not only am I holding a destructive terrorist in my academy, but apparently there's a madman with a mystical sword on a boat who is coming here to kill us?"

Sun Wukong nodded and smacked his lips together. "Yeah...That about sums it up," he muttered.

Umber raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing their tale. "And you wish for me to prepare my students for battle?" she questioned.

"Ma'am, I know this sounds crazy-" Blake Belladonna began.

"Crazy doesn't even begin to describe it," Umber interrupted.

"-but we swear it's the truth!" Blake continued. "My friends and I witnessed it with our own eyes!"

"Multiple teenagers claiming to see something is hardly a compelling case," the headmistress pointed out. "I believe we are done here."

"Wait!" Sun protested, taking a step forward. "Professor Umber, would you at least come see our friends in the hospital? They'll tell you everything that happened!"

Umber seemed to almost consider it, but she simply dismissed the matter with a wave of her hand. "Mr. Wukong, you've always had a thing for jokes," she said. "But this one is beginning to annoy me. You're dismissed."

"But..." Sun turned to Blake, looking down. "Sorry, Blake. I don't think we can convince her."

Blake didn't say anything to Sun. Instead, she stepped forward and placed her hands on Umber's desk. The old woman glanced up from her paperwork, clearly not happy with the cat faunus's actions.

"Miss Belladonna-"

"Do you have a student named Cinder Fall listed in your records?" she asked.

Umber sighed. "I know of a student by that name, yes."

"But does she show up on your records?" Blake repeated. "Does she have transcripts? Any family? Anything that proves her to be who she says she is? And her team, too?"

Umber's eyes narrowed. "Where are you going with this, Miss Belladonna?"

"Remember Mercury Black?" Blake asked. "The student who was injured by Yang Xiao Long? My friend Ruby claims he was just fine the very next night, and that he attacked her. She also claims that Cinder Fall killed another student, Pyrrha Nikos. Now, if we were to ask, could we see if the students know of these people?"

"..." Umber remained silent, before sighing. "Mr. Black made a full recovery thanks to his aura-"

"Just come with us to the hospital, dammit!" Blake growled. "My friends are in danger and it's the fault of those people! It's the fault of Nightmare!" Tears began to form in her eyes. "I lost Yang because of Cinder and her goons, Jaune lost Pyrrha because of her, and now we lost Jaune because of Nightmare! JUST FUCKING COME TO THE HOSPITAL!"

"Blake!" Sun cried, yanking his friend back. "Calm down!"

Blake was shaking, but she slowly began to calm down. "I'm sorry, Sun," she murmured. "I don't know what came over me...I guess I'm just sick of this..." She turned around and began leading him away. "Let's get out of here, we'll end this ourselves."

"Wait!" Umber called. The two turned around, curious. The headmistress sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll accompany you to the hospital," she stated. "But that's it."

"Really?" Sun asked, before he broke into a grin. "Thank you, Professor Umber, thank you!"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Mr. Wukong," Umber said as she reached for her coat. "I'm still not completely on board with this strange story of yours."

"Then why come with us..?" Blake wondered.

Umber paused for a moment, before she sighed sadly. "Because that's what Ozpin would do," she whispered. "But enough about that, which hospital is this?"

"St. Plum's," said Blake. "It's about a five minute bullhead ride from here."

"Hm. Well then, lead the way, Miss Belladonna."

...

Adam didn't like Vacuo. Despite its general acceptance of faunus, the land itself was unbearable. The endless sand, the scorching heat, the lack of water... Truly, this was a place only meant for those with an undying will to survive.

Despite his hatred for this slightly backwards kingdom, he couldn't help but admire its citizens' unwavering capability for survival.

He was here because there was something Sienna Khan, the leader of the White Fang. was looking for. Apparently, there was some sort of 'treasure' or something hidden within the harsh desert caves of Vacuo, a treasure that Sienna claimed would prove to be the ultimate tool for the faunus' fight for freedom. However, all attempts to find this treasure have failed, most either dying on the journey or simply returning empty handed and thirsting.

Sienna Khan was not happy with this lack of progress, and she thus ordered Adam to take on the task. Considering how Adam was such a skilled asset to the terrorist group, she came to the conclusion that the bull faunus would be able to pull it off.

"I will not fail you," Adam had said.

So now here he was, standing in front of a tunnel in the middle of the desert, which he hoped contained whatever relic Sienna was looking for. He peered into the gaping hole in front of him, almost surprised by how dark it was. In a kingdom where the sun constantly beat the earth with light, he never would've expected to see something so black, so ominous. Part of him almost wanted to leave, to turn around and tell Sienna that he hadn't found any trace of the relic. But at the same time, something inside the hole called to him, urging him to find it.

"Boss?" a voice broke through his thoughts. Adam turned and faced one of his higher ranking soldiers, a rabbit faunus named Perry.

"It's nothing," Adam said. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with." He turned to face the rest of his men, fifteen in total. "Listen up, whatever Sienna Khan wants is in here, and it's our job to get it. We've worked hard to make it this far, we better not return empty handed." He pointed to a larger soldier. "Graz, lead a small group in there first, scout ahead for us. We'll be right behind you."

Graz nodded, and he gruffly ordered four other soldiers to follow him. Without hesitation, they jumped inside the hole, swallowed by the abyss. After about a minute, Adam heard Graz's voice in the radio in his ear. "We're in, boss," he informed. "There's a single path here, nothing much to see. Wherever this leads, it's man made. This could be what we're looking for!"

"Roger that," Adam responded. "We'll be right after you guys." He turned to the rest of his group. "Alright, we're going in!"

Suddenly a loud blast of static sounded in Adam's ear, and he painfully groaned.

"Boss!' Graz's frantic voice could be heard. "W-We're not alone in here!"

A feral cackling could be heard, followed by a beastly snarl.

"G-Get away from me!" Graz screamed, his voice full of fear. "Stay back! STAY BACK!"

Adam heard something hit hard against Graz, and the sound of tearing flesh echoed through the radio.

"NO! NO!" Graz cried. "HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME-AGHHHHH!"

"Graz?!" Adam hissed. "Graz, do you copy?!"

Silence, save for the sound of grinding bone, followed by a satisfied hum.

"Shit!" Adam cursed, before addressing the other White Fang members. "Something down there got our men," he told them. "And whatever it is, it needs to be stopped. New mission: Go down there, find that thing, and kill it."

The soldiers nodded nervously, and they followed Adam as he jumped down into the gaping blackness.

Upon landing, Adam immediately saw the pathway Graz had been talking about. He glanced behind him and saw his men readying their weapons. Adam's hand found its way to the handle of Wilt, and he cautiously began leading his men down the eerie path.

He could hear it, scurrying around them. But every time he glanced at the direction he though it was, he would only see a glimpse of it, before it disappeared. His men could sense it too, and they instinctively huddled closer as they neared the end of the path.

The end of the path formed a small, circular room, littered with human bones. Apparently Graz and his squad weren't the first victims...

Speaking of which...

"Boss..." Perry murmured, pointing to the left of the group.

Adam and the others followed his finger, and froze. In a large pile were the remains of the White Fang scouts. Most were torn to shreds, half eaten and half clawed. Graz laid on top of the rest, his stomach torn open and most of his organs scattered about, vicious bite marks on all of them.

"What the hell did this to them?" a soldier towards the back muttered.

Adam didn't answer, instead just sniffing the air to catch the creature's scent. However, his superior sense of smell failed him as the stench was _everywhere,_ and was thus impossible to pinpoint. 'Dammit,' he thought. 'Whatever it was, it's pretty damn sneaky to trick us faunus like this.'

Now, he held up a hand to signal for his men to remain silent. They obeyed, and everyone strained their ears for any sound, any sign that the creature was around them. However, there was nothing. Nothing except the stench of blood and rotting flesh.

"Boss!" Perry then exclaimed, startling everyone. They all glared at him, but he pointed ahead and ignored them. "Look!"

They turned around to see what he was pointing at. Indented into the wall was a small hole, and inside that hole was a gleaming object, that seemed to shimmer with beauty.

"Is that the relic?" A boar faunus next to Adam asked.

Adam once again didn't answer, slowly approaching the relic with caution. This was it, he decided. This was what had called out to him, this is what he came here for...

He gently lifted it out of the small hole, inspecting it closely. Then he frowned. "What is this?" he growled.

It was a shard. A shard that looked like it came off a broken sword. _This_ was it?! _This_ was supposed to save the White Fang and all faunus-kind? A scrap of _fucking metal?!_

"Are you kidding me?!" he roared. "We traveled all of this way, lost our brothers, all for a stupid piece of scrap metal?!"

And then that's when he heard it.

The growls.

And before he could turn around, he heard his men cry out as something jumped them, already making short work of them all.

Whipping around and drawing out Wilt, he finally saw the creature. It was holding Perry by the neck, choking the rabbit faunus with one powerful grip.

Adam immediately shot a bullet from Blush at the creature, but his eyes widened in shock as the projectile harmlessly bounced off the creature's scaly hide. The creature still noticed it, however, and it dropped Perry to face the bull faunus. The creature was a monstrosity. It was a humanoid lizard like creature, with dull yellow scales and black markings all over it. It's long tail swished over the sand, creating a dust cloud behind it. It wore an armored breastplate, with arm bands and shin guards. It almost appeared to be an ancient warrior, if it wasn't for its beastly appearance.

The creature seemed to grin, as if sensing something in Adam. Then, it stood up straighter, almost abandoning its animal crouch but not fully. It then reached behind it, and pulled out a duel set of hand axes, coated in blood. The creature licked its lips and began circling around Adam, and the bull faunus readied himself for a vicious battle.

Then the creature, Lizardman, let out a fierce screech before charging.

...

 **Aw yiss, I added a THIRD Soul Calibur character, and it just so happens to be Lizardman, aka the second creepiest motherf*cker in the games :P Added him last minute, to tell the truth. I thought it would be nice to have Adam battle something instead of just getting a hold of the "relic" and it all ends like that. NOPE!**

 **Anyway, I know there are a few of you who are probably REALLY pissed at me due to the lack of Nightmare battling like a boss, but you gotta understand something. This isn't just a story about Nightmare. Because really, it's still a RWBY fanfic, and thus takes place in the RWBY universe and settles around the RWBY characters. While Nightmare is a major focus in this story, it isn't just a story about him killing Cinder or whatever. Nightmare's presence is going to be felt all throughout Remnant. That's why I'm focusing on other plot lines right now. All of Remnant is involved in this. From Penny wielding a piece of Soul Edge to Adam fighting the friggin Lizardman. It's all leading up to something much bigger, because Nightmare fights on a level that shakes the whole world! So I hope this sorta makes you less mad at me.**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**

 **(And yes I did make Sienna Khan female. The name 'Sienna' just strikes me as feminine... A female tiger faunus!)**


	11. Chapter 11

***Deep breath* OKAY, so this story has grown a lot more than I was expecting XD I'm gonna admit it: Originally, there wasn't gonna be nearly this much crap going on. It was gonna simply be a "wet dream" story about Nightmare being an absolute beast in the RWBY universe. However, around chapter three I became unsatisfied with that direction. I may not be the best writer on this site (HAHA, far from it), but I figured I might as well make this an actual story! And needless to say, I'm pretty darn satisfied with that outcome, even if it means having like four different stories sort of happening at the same time. But it all leads up to something much, MUCH bigger, I swear! And right now, I just wanna thank all of you guys for sticking with me this far, and I really hope you you all continue to enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Seriously, this is my second most successful story ever, so thank you!**

 **(Also due to the Pokemon Sun & Moon hype I am totally writing a RWBY/Pokemon crossover and no one can stop me!)**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter, everyone! :D**

 **ALSO! VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT THE END!**

 **...**

For the second time since the battle began, Adam Taurus was launched across the cave, his back slamming heavily into the stone wall. He let out a grunt of pain as he fell to his knees, and the cackling above him indicated that Lizardman was preparing to strike again.

Pushing himself forward, he rolled out of the way of the incoming hand axe. Forcing himself back to his knees, he brought up Wilt and prepared to charge at his enemy.

Lizardman was tough, extremely tough. He was undoubtedly the fastest opponent Adam has ever had to face, as well as the strongest. Even though the battle had just started, the faunus realized he was at a severe disadvantage. While a capable fighter on his own, he relied on his semblance to become stronger as the battle progressed. However, due to Lizardman's lack of firearms, Adam was unable to allow Wilt to absorb any power.

Lizardman licked his scaly lips and he once again caught sight of his prey. Adam frowned, and sprinted towards the reptilian in hopes of slicing him in two. Lizardman cackled once more and leaped over Adam's strike, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him into the ground with a flip. Adam rolled with the attack, back on his feet in an instant. Lizardman attempted to strike down Adam with his hand axes, but the faunus swiftly blocked the attack, connecting his foot to his opponent's stomach. Lizardman let out a low groan as he fell back, barely countering a swing from Wilt. Letting out a hiss, he swept Adam off of his feet with his tail, before kicking him into the air and delivering brutal slash after brutal slash.

Finally, Lizardman stopped his assault by kicking Adam away. Adam landed feet first against a wall, eyes narrowing through his grimm mask as he kicked off the wall towards Lizardman. He swung once more, but Lizardman's quick instincts allowed the beast to dodge. Suddenly, a _very_ painful feeling shot through his shoulder, and Adam collapsed onto the ground like a brick. Groaning, he glanced at his shoulder to see one of Lizardman's axes stuck halfway through his shoulder.

Adam's eyes widened. 'This creature,' he thought fearfully. 'It's on a completely new level!'

This wasn't a fight he had much hope of winning, he decided. Scrambling to his feet, he lifted Blush up to Lizardman and opened fire. The moment he did, he turned around and started sprinting towards the entrance of the cave, the blood-curling screeches of Lizardman informing him that his shots hit their mark.

Painfully, he ripped the axe out of his shoulder and tossed it aside, blood already beginning to pour out of his wound. Soon, the entrance of the cave could be seen overhead, the sun's bright light seeping through the hole. Summoning all his aura, Adam leaped as high as he could to safety...

Only for a clawed hand to wrap around his ankle, slamming his injured shoulder right back onto to the ground. Adam let out a loud scream of pain as the last of his aura disappeared, leaving him completely vulnerable to Lizardman. He looked up, and he saw that his gunshot did slightly less damage than he expected.

Half of Lizardman's face was blown off, leaving only chunks of flesh clinging to his skull. It was a gruesome sight, one that would've frightened the most intimidating of grimm.

Lizardman did not seem happy in the slightest, and he angrily stomped his large foot on Adam's chest repeatedly. Adam choked as he felt his own ribs begin to crack and splinter under Lizardman's weight. Then, a glint caught his eye. There, just barely within reach, was the mysterious shard Sienna Khan had wanted him to retrieve. A last ditch idea past through the faunus's mind, and he grabbed it as quick as he could. With a roar, he drove it through Lizardman's ankle, causing the creature to get off of him and hiss in pain. Not wasting a second, Adam forced himself to stand, and he stabbed the shard into Lizardman, again and again, never letting up. His vision went red as he stabbed into Lizardman's torso, args, legs, back, collar, etc.

Finally, he backed away, only to gasp when he saw that his opponent was still standing. Lizardman was obviously on his last legs, his entire body covered in blood. Well, so was Adam... He guessed that now made them even again. Breathing heavily, Adam held out the shard in front of him, preparing for the final blow. Lizardman did the same, brandishing his remaining hand axe dangerously.

Letting out their final battle cries, the two warriors charged. Lizardman swung his axe to take off Adam's head, only to feel the shard go straight into his throat. Eyes widening in surprise, Lizardman stumbled back, choking on his own blood as he clawed the shard out of his throat. Then, he collapsed onto the ground, dead from his blood loss.

Sighing, Adam collapsed right next to his opponent's corpse, regaining his breath. He reached out and picked up the shard, staring at it with a frown. "I hope you're worth it," he growled. "I lost my men and nearly my own life, all for you."

He kept staring at the shard as if he were expecting it to somehow be able to answer. Grunting in displeasure, he let his arm drop to his side, and he simply stared at the cave's entrance.

Then, a strange tingling sensation came from his hand. Curiously, he lifted it back up to his face, only to freeze in shock. The shard... It was _glowing,_ and it was sheathing itself _inside_ his hand!

Desperately, Adam tried to pull it out, but to avail. The shard kept entering him, and finally it vanished completely into his hand. It was right then that Adam noticed that his shoulder wound was sealing itself up, and when he looked it at there was no trace of it, not even a scar. In fact, all the pain Adam had felt during his battle with Lizardman was disappearing! 'What...What's going on?' he thought. 'Why am I feeling so...powerful?'

He stood up, feeling stronger than he ever had before. "I'm...powerful," he murmured, picking up Wilt and Blush. "I...I have power...Power to..." He paused, before grinning like a mad man. "I have the power to eradicate humanity! I have the power to save all faunus! I WILL SAVE OUR PEOPLE! HUMANITY SHALL DIE!"

With this in mind, Adam leaped out of the cave in a single bound, landing in the Vacuo desert, causing sand to fly everywhere. With part of the power of Soul Edge now inside him, he began sprinting through the desert, one particular target in his mind...

...

Ruby glanced up after hearing the door open, and she gave a small smile as Blake and Sun entered. However, her head tilted when she saw the older woman accompanying them.

"Uh, Blake," she said. "Who is that woman?"

Everyone else glanced up as well, observing the newcomer. The woman was unfazed, and she stepped into the center of the room while giving off a sense of authority that could rival Glynda Goodwitch. "My name is Professor Umber," she introduced herself calmly. "I am the headmistress of Haven Academy." She then turned to Raven, a sense of familiarity passing through the two. "Raven."

"Umber," Raven said, her voice devoid of the emotion she showed earlier.

"It's been awhile."

"Yes, it has."

"Um..." Nora began awkwardly, "You two...are friends or something?"

"I wouldn't say that," Raven growled, standing up. "What are you doing here, Umber?"

"These children," Umber started, gesturing to Blake and Sun. "Have told me a rather...interesting story. I've come here to verify whether or not it's true."

Raven scoffed, placing a hand on her hip. "Wow," she sarcastically exclaimed. "Umber Matte actually listened to someone else for a change. Do boarbatusks fly, too?"

Umber narrowed her eyes. "Enough of your quips, Raven," she warned. "I would like to hear this story from the children, not you." Turning to Ren, she said, "You seem like a sensible young man. How would you like to start us off?"

Ren seemed surprised, but he cleared his throat and nodded. "Of course." Taking a deep breath, he began the tale. "You see, when Beacon was attacked, my friends and I were there. We discovered that the woman who led the attack was the current host of the fall maiden's powers..."

"Fall maiden?" Umber repeated.

Ren blinked. "Yes," he clarified. "You know of the fairy ta-"

"I am well aware of the legends," Umber cut him off. "But they are just that: legends."

"Well, every legend has a spark of truth," Raven told the professor. "The maidens are real, you simply chose to remain in the dark."

"How-"

"Just let the kid tell his story," Raven interrupted.

Umber scowled at the other woman, before turning back to Ren. "You were saying?"

"Well, the fall maiden, Cinder, killed a friend of ours," he continued, he and the rest of his friends sharing a moment of silence for the deceased girl. "And... Ruby, Nora, Jaune, and I received a tip saying that Cinder was somewhere in Haven. So we began the journey here. However, along the way we learned of another legend in a rather...unfortunate way."

"The tale of Soul Edge," Professor Umber guessed. "Miss Belladonna has told me of the story."

Ren nodded. "Our friend Jaune stumbled upon the sword one night, and it corrupted him...and turned him into this...creature." Another pause. "If it wasn't for Blake's timely rescue, we would've died." He took another breath. "We eventually arrived at a village by the shore that would take us to Mistral, but Jaune...now calling himself Nightmare, attacked us. Most of the villagers were killed, and Nightmare escaped on a ship. Raven found us on the verge of defeat, and Ruby and Nora were in critical condition. Using her semblance, she was able to get us to this hospital, and the rest is history."

Umber was studying Ren closely, searching for anything that would give his lies away. However, she found nothing but pure honesty in the young man. As unreal as his story sounded, he was telling the truth.

"That's a very compelling story," she said slowly. "And your eyes reveal no hints of lying in them." She paused. "However, I am finding it very hard to believe you. You're talking about something that goes against years upon years of history!"

"I...don't know how we can prove it to you, ma'am," Ren confessed. "All we can do is give you our word."

"One's word can only carry them so far."

Raven narrowed her eyes at Umber. "You're one to talk," she hissed.

Umber ignored the other woman. "If one of you can give me definitive proof of your tale, I will believe you." she told everyone.

Everyone remained silent. Ruby had a look of defeat on her face, Nora kept glancing at Ren, as if expecting him to have the answer. Blake felt her ears twitch underneath her bow, while Sun looked lost in thought.

Suddenly, the monkey faunus snapped his fingers, earning everyone's attention. "I got it!" he exclaimed, before turning to his headmistress. "Professor Umber, could we use Nadir?"

"Nadir Shiko?" Umber asked. "From Team ABRN?"

Sun nodded excitedly. "Yeah!" he confirmed. "We could use him, right? I know his semblance never really acts on command but if we could at least try!"

Umber seemed to ponder the idea, before nodding slowly. "Well, yes..." she murmured. "In theory, Mr. Shiko would be a good bet."

"Um...Who are we talking about?" Ruby asked.

"Nadir Shiko of Team ABRN," Umber explained. "While not the best combatant, his semblance could still be extremely useful depending on the case. You see, Mr. Shiko has a rather unique semblance: It allows him to have accurate visions of future events. However, it's rare that he activates it himself, it mostly acts on its own."

"That's...extremely convenient," Raven deadpanned.

Umber nodded in half-agreement, before turning to Sun. "Mr. Wukong, if you would be so kind as to contact Mr. Shiko on your scroll. Tell him to meet us here as soon as he can."

Sun nodded before stepping out of the room, pulling his scroll out of his back pocket with his tail. As the door shut behind him, Umber turned to the other children. "This...Jaune," she said. "He was very important to you all, wasn't he?"

They nodded. "He was Ren and I's leader," Nora explained. "He was the first to give us a sense of family outside of each other..."

"He was my first friend coming into Beacon," Ruby muttered, drawing her knees up. "I really miss him, and I'd do anything to have him back..."

Umber frowned, finding herself believing these children even more. Damn emotions...getting in the way of clear reasoning...

"He and I were never close," Blake admitted. "But still, he always tried harder than anyone to be the best he could be. He was...inspirational, one could say."

Umber nodded slowly. This Jaune fellow seemed almost exactly like the kind of hunters Ozpin loved to accept into his school, someone who pushed himself to do what was right while caring for everyone else around him.

The room's atmosphere seemed much sadder, all of a sudden.

No one spoke for a couple of minutes, not until Sun finally walked back in. "I just got off the scroll with Nadir," he told them all. "He's on his way right now."

"Good," Raven said, glancing at Umber. "I'm looking forward to proving this bitch wrong."

"Are you really still clinging to that?!" Umber hissed in annoyance. Raven shrugged.

"Maybe."

Umber narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Listen, Raven," she warned. "I'm going to give you one chance to-"

"Can you guys please stop arguing?" Ruby meekly asked. The two adults glanced in her direction for a second, before reluctantly backing off. Ruby let out a sigh of relief. Honestly, she had no idea what kind of beef these two had with each other, but she figured she really didn't want to know.

Ten minutes later, a knock was heard on their door. Blake walked over and opened it, revealing a young man with dark skin and bright pink hair shifting his stance awkwardly.

"Uh...This is where I'm supposed to be, right?" he wondered, earning a nod from everyone. Hesitantly, the boy stepped in, before taking a seat in the corner.

"Welcome, Mr. Shiko," Umber said. "Thank you for coming here on such a short notice."

Nadir scratched the back of his neck, a blush forming on his cheeks. "I-It's nothing," he insisted. "Um...What am I here for? He glanced at everyone he didn't recognize, confused by their presence. "I'm not in trouble, right?"

Umber shook her head. "Of course not," she assured the boy. "We have a very important task for you." She let her words sink in before finishing. "We need you to tap into your semblance, Mr. Shiko."

Nadir blinked, before his eyes widened significantly. "W-What?" he stammered. "B-But Professor Umber, you know it's hard for me to activate my semblance manually!"

"It doesn't matter," Raven spoke up. "Listen kid, you have to try your hardest. This could very well determine the fate of Haven Academy."

Nadir gulped. "Y-You're saying Haven's fate is in my hands or something...?" he gasped.

"Raven!" Umber barked, before addressing Nadir. "Calm down, Mr. Shiko. Just try your best, and tell us if you can see anything that seems important."

Nadir slowly nodded, and took a deep breath before closing his eyes. He seemed to relax a bit, his breathing growing slow and steady. Then, he twitched, and spoke.

"There's...a man," he explained. "In blue armor...he has a sword with a giant eye..."

Team RNBR shared a glance. "Nightmare," Ren said, and the others nodded in agreement.

"He's on a boat," Nadir continued. "Wait...he's getting off the boat. He's staring at...Haven Academy!"

All eyes were fixed on the young hunter. "Go on," Umber urged.

"He's..." Nadir let out a choked gasp, and he began to shake. "Oh God...He's killing them!"

"What?!" Umber hissed.

"The students..." Nadir whimpered. "He's killing the- Oh no, Reese!" Suddenly, Nadir's entire body began to shake, his breaths becoming uneven as tears leaked from his closed eyes. His hands clenched the armrests tightly, his aura causing them to splinter.

"Mr. Shiko!" Umber called out worriedly.

"Th-There's a woman...Cinder, I think?" Nadir continued, his voice full of panic. "She's using these crazy powers! The guy... He's fighting her now... Oh my God, HE'S TEARING HER APART!"

"MR. SHIKO!" Umber yelled, finally causing the boy to open his eyes. Immediately, Nadir stumbled over to the trash can, emptying all of his stomach's contents into it.

Ruby, Ren, and the others all felt horrible for the poor guy. Obviously whatever he saw must've been traumatizing. Nora made a move to comfort the boy, but Ren grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Leave him be," he advised.

Umber stared at her student with pity and guilt, taking a deep breath. "I'm very sorry you had to see all of that, Mr. Shiko," she apologized. "But you did the right thing. Now we can prepare to defend ourselves." She turned to Blake, a dark look on her face. "It seems you were telling the truth after all, Miss Belladonna. I apologize for doubting you."

Blake didn't react, instead turning to the others. "We have to return to the academy," she told them all. "We need to stop Nightmare from getting to Cinder."

"Wait, why should we protect her, though?" Sun questioned. "Couldn't we just defeat her before Nightmare comes back?"

"Unlikely," Raven said. "Remember, she's a fall maiden, one of the most powerful beings in existence. It would be easier to keep her in one location while everyone else fights against Nightmare." She smirks. "Besides, even if I can't defeat her, if she attacks I'll be able to put up a better fight than anyone else."

"As much as I hate saying this," Umber stepped in. "I believe Raven and I should handle guarding Cinder. The two of us should be strong enough to battle her if push comes to shove."

"Well then we better get going," Ruby said, standing up.

Raven pulled out her sword and sliced open a portal. "Alright," she agreed. "Let's go."

...

 _MAaaAster... He is herEEE!_

 _FFFinaLLy... SOOOOulllll EDge!_

The creature could sense that he was nearly at his destination, where he would finally be reunited with Soul Edge. His sightless eyes gleamed as he stood up, raising his arms to reveal a duel set of katars. He extended his tongue and licked each blade sensually. He couldn't wait for them to be covered in blood.

Cackling to himself, Voldo continued towards Haven Academy, where the next battle awaited...

...

 **Originally this was gonna include a lot more content, but I decided to save half of what I had originally written for the next chapter. Anyway! If things go as planned, next chapter should be the start of Nightmare's wrath over Haven Academy, which has been having a lot of build up! Will Team RNBR and the students of Haven be able to stop Nightmare? Will Nightmare break through them and confront Cinder? Will Raven and Umber be able to keep Cinder, a friggin' MAIDEN, at bay? WHAT WILL ADAM DO NOW THAT HE HAS SOME OF SOUL EDGE'S POWER?!**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**

 **IMPORTANT MESSAGE! Guys, if any of you are into Fire Emblem, I would very much like you to check out a new poll I set up on my profile! Even if you aren't into the FE games, I really wouldn't mind you voting anyway and just picking an option at random XD Votes end December 1st!**


	12. Chapter 12

**We're nearing the end of this arc, everybody! Yep, this shit's gonna have arcs XD Things are about to get heated up now... Nightmare is almost at Haven, Umber must rally the students up to defend the school, Adam has received part of Soul Edge's power, and** ** _Voldo_** **of all characters is beginning to make his move. AW YISS, VOLDO IS THE SECOND CHARACTER!**

 **Also, I am SO fucking sorry for the slow updates! But to be fully honest, this might be something you guys will have to get used to :/ Updates always get slower during the winter season, mostly because we get pretty heavy snow here so the internet is faulty as shit during this time. That, and with Christmas coming up, along with tryouts for an upcoming musical...it's just going to be a very busy time. So yeah, I hope you guys aren't too pissed at me.**

 **But enough of that... Enjoy the chapter, everyone!**

 **(Chapter six of Volume Four, though O_O)**

 **...**

Patch was the kind of place Ironwood could imagine himself settling in, if he wasn't tied down to his job. As many times as the general may have wished he could live a peaceful life outside of war and Grimm, he knew that he wasn't put on Remnant for that. No, his purpose was to be a protector of the people, by any means necessary.

Stepping out of the bullhead, he signaled for the pilot to wait for him. The pilot nodded, before pulling out his scroll to jack around. Ironwood chuckled, before making his way towards the front door of the small house the bullhead landed in front of. Out of the corner of his vision, the general could see two lilac eyes peeking through the curtain of one of the windows. The eyes disappeared, and Ironwood hoped that his visit would be welcomed.

He firmly knocked on the door three times, and after ten seconds of random shuffling noises, the door opened to show a middle aged blonde man sporting hunter's gear. The man blinked, before a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.

"Ironwood," he greeted. "What a surprise!"

"A pleasure, Taiyang," Ironwood returned the greeting. "May I come in?"

Taiyang scooted out of the general's way, opening the door wider. "Of course," he replied. "Can I ask what you're doing here?"

Ironwood stepped inside and observed the household. It was cozy, to say the least. Ironwood briefly had a flashback of his own childhood home, a warm house that boasted a striking resemblance to the one he had just stepped in. A picture caught his eye, and upon inspecting it he saw that it showed a young, blonde female. Barely thirteen years old, it looked like she was trying on hunter's gear for the first time. His eyes wandered to her right arm, and he sighed, placing it back where it had been before.

"I was hoping to speak with your daughter," he explained. "I would like to see how she's handling her new arm."

Taiyang sported a awkward grin, scratching the back of his neck. "She was reluctant at first," he admitted. "But she got round to it. We've been spending most of our days training now. I think she's really close to going back to her old self."

" _She_ can speak for herself, thank you very much," a new voice sounded from behind the two men. Turning around, they saw Yang Xiao Long standing at the kitchen entryway, her robotic arm exposed for all to see. "And I _am_ back to my old self," she grinned, "thanks for asking."

Ironwood chuckled and approached the young girl. "I'm glad to see you back on your feet, Miss Xiao Long," he told her. "I would like you to know that your actions during the Battle of Beacon saved the lives of countless others. You should be proud."

Yang nodded, though she sighed and looked away. "Wish I could've done a bit more, though," she muttered. "Haven't heard from Blake, or Weiss, or-"

"Miss Rose," Ironwood finished, his smile vanishing. A silence hung over the three, before Ironwood spoke again. "I wish I could help you find her, Miss Xiao Long. Do you have any idea where she could be?"

Yang tapped her chin for a moment. "Honestly, I'm not too sure." She shook her head. "Last time we spoke, she mentioned something about Mistral."

"Mistral?" Ironwood frowned. "My, that's quite far for such a young girl."

"We were actually thinking about traveling there to find her ourselves," Yang pointed out, before receiving a glare from her father. The buxom blonde rolled her eyes. "Well, _I_ was, at least."

"Yang, we talked about this," Taiyang said sternly. "You're not ready yet, you still have a lot more training to do!"

"Oh my God, Dad!" Yang groaned as she turned to her father. Ironwood shifted back a bit, wondering if he should really be witnessing a family dispute right now. "The longer we wait, the more danger Ruby is in!"

"I won't lose another person in my life!" Taiyang argued back. "Yang, you know how tense the kingdoms are! You can't just take a bullhead or a ship whenever you want!"

"Well I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"Yang, as your father I am ordering you to sit here and do nothing!"

"Oh my _God,_ Dad!"

"If I may interrupt," Ironwood stepped in between the two. "I do believe I can escort Miss Xiao Long to Mistral myself," he turned to Taiyang, "with your permission, of course."

Taiyang looked shocked. "Absolutely n-"

"Really?!" Yang beamed. "You can do that?!"

Ironwood seemed rather smug at the moment. He crossed his arms and smirked. "The bullhead I arrived here on is state-of-the-art," he boasted. "As long as we stop to refuel, we could be at Haven within just a few hours."

"But how?" Taiyang wondered. "All the kingdoms have a target on Atlas's back, remember?"

"True," the general agreed. "But here I am, in another kingdom. I am one of the few the higher ups in the kingdoms still trusted in Atlas, and they know that harming me would ultimately lead to war." His face turned grim. "And I'm sure no one wants that."

"Dad, you have to let me go!" Yang insisted, facing her father.

Taiyang looked torn. "But..."

"Dad," Yang said, more gently. "I know you're worried, and you have every right to be. But I have to get Ruby back. We'll go to Mistral, find her, and have her back home safe in time for dinner!"

"..." Taiyang was silently debating this, before he finally sighed in defeat. "Alright... I know there's no stopping you. Just be safe, okay?"

Yang grinned and gave her father a brief hug. "Thanks, Dad," she murmured before heading upstairs. "Be right back! I have to get my weapons really quick!"

After Yang was gone, the other blonde turned to the general. "Keep her safe, James," he said. "I'm entrusting her with you. Don't let me down."

"I'm a professional, Taiyang," Ironwood reminded his old friend. "I wouldn't dream of it. She'll be safe with me."

"Good," Taiyang grunted, just as Yang came down the stairs, her shotgun gauntlets around her wrists.

"Ready," she announced.

Ironwood lead the girl outside to the waiting bullhead. The girl turned around and waved goodbye to her father before stepping inside the aircraft.

She would get Ruby back, she vowed. She wasn't going to let her sister slip away again.

...

Perhaps she should have listened to Neo's warning.

Cinder had originally waved off the mute criminal's attempts to warn her as simply crazy talk. There was no way that silver eyed menace who took her eye was here in Mistral. It was simply impossible.

Well, turns out Cinder was right.

But that didn't mean she still wasn't screwed.

She felt the blood red blade press a bit closer against her throat, and she growled as she observed the faces of the other hunters present. Currently, she was being held hostage. While she would normally consider blasting them to smithereens, she knew that her throat could be cut open with just one slight flick. The woman who held the blade apparently had a teleportation semblance, and within seconds an entire squad of hunters had invaded her room.

"Now, we're only going to explain this once," the cursed woman hissed. "And it would be in your best interest to listen, unless you want to end up dead right here and now."

Cinder gritted her teeth, glancing at her 'teammates'. Mercury was being held down by the monkey faunus and the pink eyed man. Neo was being pressed down by the cat faunus's boot, her sword dangerously close to the mute's throat. Emerald was being held by the headmistress herself, a bag over her head to prevent the use of her semblance. Cinder quickly realized that they were all cornered, and there was no getting out of this.

Wordlessly, she nodded, and she heard the woman hum in satisfaction.

"Good." The blade inched away from Cinder's neck by just the tiniest bit, as if just begging the fall maiden to make her escape. However, she knew that would only lead to her early death, and she knew that everyone else knew it too. So she simply stayed, and the woman with the sword began speaking once more.

"Now, I'm only going to explain this once," she said. "I don't know if you are aware of the tale of Soul Edge, but I can assure you it's very real." Cinder gritted her teeth, remembering Neo's warning. If only she had listened... "Now, do you remember the woman you killed atop Beacon Tower?" Cinder nodded to herself, and she would've grinned if it wasn't for the painful reminder of her lost eye. "Well, it turns out that the man who she loved has gotten a hold of Soul Edge, and it corrupted him into a monster more powerful than you can ever imagine."

Cinder wanted to ask why they were bothering to tell her this, but her throat burned when she tried to speak.

"And now, that monster has only one goal for now," the woman continued. "And that goal is to kill you. Now, we are willing to offer you protection, but only if you're willing to cooperate."

"W-why...?" Cinder forced out.

"Why?" the woman echoed. "Because once you're gone, the monster won't stop there. After you're dead, the entire world is next, and we don't plan on letting that happen."

"Correct," Umber added. "Which is why we will be _borrowing_ your 'teammates' for awhile. Raven will make sure you and Miss Sustrai don't cause any trouble."

"Wait," Mercury grunted. "The hell are you borrowing me and Neo for?"

"You two will be helping us defend the school," Raven explained. "We'll need all the help we can get if we're going to stand a chance against Nightmare. You two are the members of this team we can keep trust to fight."

"You're really overestimating our trustworthiness here." Mercury deadpanned.

"Wasn't my idea," Blake muttered.

"Regardless of where your loyalties lie, I trust that you will in fact fight for us," said Umber. "After all, you wouldn't want to end up on the sharp end of Raven's sword, now would you?"

Mercury opened his mouth to smack talk the professor, but the fearful look Neo gave at the mention of Raven gave him the impression that he shouldn't. Sighing, he shook his head in defeat. "Fine, fine..." he grumbled. "You've made your damn point..."

Umber nodded in satisfaction, before she turned to the younger hunters present. Gesturing her hand towards Cinder and Emerald, she ordered, "Tie them up."

After the two were tied up, Umber left Raven to guard them while she took the others to the main hall, explaining that she would be holding an assembly to warn the students about this new threat. She also stated that she would call some of the local hunters who were available.

Cinder glared as the hunters left, but her gaze lingered on Ruby for a bit longer. The young silver eyed girl sensed it, and when she turned around she had a glare of her own. The two locked eyes, before Ruby shook her head and walked out of the room, leaving the fall maiden behind with Emerald and the woman with the sword.

The woman, Raven, sighed and kept her blade against Cinder's throat. "Don't worry," she cooed mockingly. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Cinder wished she could wipe that smug look off of the huntress's face.

...

Since Neo was, as far as he knew, a mute, Mercury always had trouble understanding Neo unless she was texting him via scroll. However, as Umber and her little ragtag group guided them to the main hall, the looks Neo threw at him made perfect sense.

 _What do we do?_ her eyes asked.

Mercury frowned and moved closer to her. "I don't know," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "I doubt we can make a run for it, so I guess we gotta fight."

 _Not that,_ Neo's own frown indicated. She made a few gestures with her hands that seemed to roughly translate to, _About that Nightmare guy?_

Mercury paused, thinking back on the story they were told back in the dorm room. "What about it?"

Neo facepalmed, and it took the silver assassin a moment to realize that she was saying, _The guy in the story and the guy in our dreams is the same person, dumbass!_

Oh shit, she was right!

Neo nodded after seeing the realization on the young man's face. She tilted her head and gave him a look that said, _So what do we do?_

Mercury sighed and shrugged. A few moments of silence passed before he said, "We find answers."

"Mr. Wukong," Umber said, turning to her faunus student. "If you would be so kind as to go to my office an make an announcement. Tell all students to arrive in the main hall with their weapons."

"You got it, Professor!" Sun called over his shoulder, already running to make the announcement.

Mercury heard the woman sigh and say to herself, "How are we supposed to win this, Ozpin?"

He couldn't help but wonder the same thing.

...

When the ship had arrived at the dock, the workers were beyond surprised and horrified when the captain's butchered body was tossed in their direction. Scrambling back, the workers looked up to see a large man in blue armor exiting the ship, wielding a sword that seemed to be from Hell itself. Terrified now, the workers ran as fast as their legs could carry them, desperate to get away from the monster.

One of the workers was, unfortunately, too slow, and the monster descended upon him like an angel of death. The large sword impaled the man and pinned him to the ground. The monster yanked the sword from the body, and turned to face the crowd that had foolishly formed.

"Where is Haven?" he growled, his voice not from this world. In that moment, panic settled in, and the crowd scurried like rats in every different direction. Nightmare shook his head before he rushed to the nearest group of people, cleaving through them without effort. 'Too easy,' he thought. 'I crave a battle, not a silly game!'

 _"Nearly there,"_ Soul Edge reassured. _"Soon Cinder will be yours."_

Nightmare didn't respond, instead tossing a young man into the air and slicing him in two. He then grabbed the boy's lover and held her up high with his giant claw. The woman's eyes widened and tears cascaded down her face as she struggled. "PLEASE!" she begged. "DON'T KILL ME!"

"I don't have time for your crying, woman!" the Azure Knight roared. "Where is Haven?!"

The woman sobbed and pointed a shaking finger to Nightmare's left. Turning his head, he saw a large, castle-like structure built in the side of a large cliff, overlooking the city. He could make out a path that led to it, and he grinned. He turned back to the woman, and was about to kill her when a sudden bullet hit his helmet. Turning around, he saw an officer standing a few meters away, visibly shaking as he fired another shot. Like the last, it simply bounced off of the knight's armor. Growling, Nightmare dropped the woman and charged at the officer. However, before he could reach him, he was suddenly knocked back by a surprise attack.

Confused, he turned around again and this time saw a huntress standing before him. She was pale-skinned, and sported curled white hair. She wore a gothic, purple dress with pieces of armor here and there. Her weapon of choice appeared to be the claw-rings she wore on her right hand. Briefly, an image of a similar, but better dressed woman appeared in Nightmare's mind, wielding a rapier with unmatched skill. The image vanished, and Nightmare glared daggers at the huntress.

The huntress didn't say anything, but she gave a small nod. Instantly, a bullet hit Nightmare from out of nowhere, briefly throwing him off balance. 'A sniper?' he thought. The huntress took her chance, charging at Nightmare with a surprising burst of speed. She raised her claws to strike, which Nightmare blocked. Another shot from the mysterious sniper caught the knight off guard, allowing the huntress to make an escape.

Nightmare swung his blade, but the huntress jumped on top of it before delivering a harsh rainbow kick that connected with his chin. Another shot from the sniper forced him to move back.

 _"The sniper keeps switching positions,"_ Soul Edge warned. _"Her ability seems to be teleportation."_

"How annoying," Nightmare snarled as he forced the huntress to move back. The huntress bit her lip, and with a wave of her hand a sudden purple orb of light appeared. She caressed it gently for a moment, before she launched it forward. Nightmare brought his sword up to block it when the orb suddenly shifted directions. It zoomed all over the place, landing blow after blow on the knight. The woman leaped forward, raking her claws against his armor as her mysterious orb continued to dance around.

Growling in frustration, Nightmare reached out and caught the orb mid attack. His claw burned, but he gritted his teeth and held on to the orb, not letting it go. With a roar, he crushed it in his gigantic claw, and a pained scream from the huntress sounded behind him. Turning around, he saw the woman's aura flicker away, and she collapsed onto her knees. Nightmare then saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and determined it to be the sniper. The mysterious gunman was about to fire another shot. Smirking, he grabbed the huntress and brought her up as a shield right as the sniper fired. The huntress gasped in pain as the bullet broke through her spine, paralyzing her from the waist down.

The sniper didn't change positions, probably surprised by the sudden turn of events. Cackling, Nightmare threw the crippled huntress at her ally, before he immediately leaped after. The huntress crashed into the other, and Nightmare brought Soul Edge down through both of them.

Staring at the two slain huntresses, he felt their power join his, and he grinned madly. With the mere annoyance dealt with, Nightmare continued his way towards Haven.

Towards Cinder.

...

 **Once again, so sorry this took a lot longer than it should have! Hopefully that last fight gave me some redemption points XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, first of all... I am SO sorry for not updating a hell of a lot sooner! I gladly would've, but I was on vacation, so I couldn't exactly get a hold of a computer. And now, I'm in the musical 'Mary Poppins', and midterms is coming up, so...yeah...** **But hey! Here I am! Last chapter was basically an entire lead up to this chapter, also known as the one a lot of you have been waiting for! Yup! All that buildup I've been forcing you to go through, it all leads up to this! So sit bat, relax, grab your Michael Bay body pillow (I mean whut) and enjoy the chapter!**

 **Also, no one is going to mention how the huntress Nightmare faces in the previous chapter was Viola from Soul Calibur 5? No? Okay...**

 **...**

Umber watched as the last of Haven's students gathered around in the assembly hall, all of them looking up at her with confusion and curiosity. Or perhaps, they were focused on the small band of Beacon Academy students that stood by her sides. She caught sight of Mr. Wukong attempting to inform his team about what was happening, but she silenced him with a glare.

No one was going to reveal this except her.

A sudden wave of fear washed over her as she realized what she was about to put her students through. If this Nightmare was as powerful as the Beacon students claimed, how many of her students would have to die in order for him to be stopped?

She sighed, briefly wondering what Ozpin would do if he were in this situation.

Probably something crazy.

Or just something cryptic as hell.

Someone cleared their throat, bringing Umber's attention back to the matter at hand. Turning her head, she saw Miss Belladonna staring at her expectantly. The two shared a brief nod, before the headmistress turned her attention back to the students gathered around.

"Students, you've all come to this school to hone your craft as protectors of our world," she began, her voice ringing clear. "Some of you are so close to graduating and becoming true hunters, while others have only just begun their journey." She took a breath and gave a soft smile. "And I'm so proud of all of you. You've all grown so much in my eyes, and as far as I can tell, all of you are already true huntsmen and huntresses."

A cheer sounded from the crowd, happy for their headmistress's approval. Umber raised her hand calmly, and the din died down. She didn't speak for a few moments, instead gazing into the eyes of each of her students.

"Which is why, with a heavy heart, I must ask all of you to pick up your weapons and defend our kingdom in what can possibly be its final hour." Silence filled the room, a heavy tension blanketing them as the students tried to understand what Umber was talking about.

Umber frowned and backed away. "Miss Belladonna will explain, for she knows the situation better than I."

Blake seemed surprised, but she gave a determined nod and stepped forward facing the crowd of young hunters. She caught sight of Sun giving her an encouraging thumbs up, and she gave a small smile in return.

"Eight months ago next week," she started, "Beacon Academy fell, and a good friend of many Beacon students died. Her name was Pyrrha Nikos." A murmur stirred from the crowd, one of grief. Blake closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again. "She was killed by a woman named Cinder Fall, who has been hiding among you ever since. She's powerful, more dangerous than anyone you've faced before."

Everyone held their breath as Blake added, "But she's not the threat right now."

...

 _"His name is Nightmare, and he's on his way to Haven right now as we speak."_

Nightmare halted his charge as a squadron of police vehicles blocked his path, accompanied by a team on hunters. The Azure Knight narrowed his eyes, and slowly brought Soul Edge up to an offensive position. "Get out of my way!" he roared, dashing at his opponents with surprising speed.

 _"He was formerly known as Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR and lover of Pyrrha. When she died, he was distraught, and dark forces used that to corrupt him."_

A hunter with a rapier nimbly dodged Nightmare's strike while another with a whip entered the fray. However, it proved fruitless, as Nightmare quickly retaliated by catching the whip-wielder with his giant claw, crushing him. Two huntresses, each with duel pistol daggers, slipped behind Nightmare, firing multiple dust shots at him. Ice, fire, and earth began to coat the knight's armor, and he quickly swung at them to get some relief.

 _"Somehow, Jaune has managed to get a hold of Soul Edge, a legendary sword thought only to have existed in fairy tales. The darkness that the sword carried possessed Jaune, causing him to have a drastic increase in skill, making him possibly more deadly than an army of the strongest grimm."_

The hunter with the rapier watched in horror as Nightmare split both huntresses in half, and he ordered the police officers to begin firing. Bullet after bullet bounced harmlessly off of Nightmare's armor as he rushed toward them. With tremendous strength, his claw grabbed hold of one of the police cars and lifted it into the air. With another roar, he slammed it into another, killing all those caught between.

The hunter gritted his teeth and bravely charged. "Bastard!" he yelled as he jumped into the air, diving down with the intent of piercing Nightmare's skull.

 _Nightmare only had one goal in mind: to kill Cinder for what she did to Pyrrha, and he'll destroy anyone in his way to accomplish that, including everyone here right now."_

"T-This...can't be..." the hunter uttered as he bled out, staring at the monstrosity above him. Nightmare chuckled darkly before he drove Soul Edge through the hunter's heart, finally killing him. He absorbed the soul of the man, feeling more power surge through him. Grinning wildly underneath his mask, he saw more officers than before now standing in his way, shaking like cowards.

 _"Destroy them all."_ Soul Edge commanded. Nightmare charged once more, effortlessly cutting through the cannon fodder like a hot knife through butter.

 _"Which is why we need you to fight. If we don't stop him here and now, then Nightmare...will destroy everything. Please! We can't do this without you!"_

Nightmare stood triumphantly over the bloodied, messy pile of what used to be his opponents. Growling, he turned his attention back to Haven Academy, still in the distance. He knew this wouldn't be the last of the battles he'd have to participate in before reaching the school. "Good..." he cackled. "Anything to make me stronger!"

Cinder would die today, that was a promise.

...

Blake took a deep breath as she finished informing the Haven students of the situation, only now noticing how much her hands were shaking. Slowly, she looked up to see the crowd's reaction. She shouldn't be too surprised, they all looked like they were wishing for this to be a giant prank. That Umber or someone would just say, "April's Fools!"

But of course, they probably all knew that wouldn't be the case.

"I-Is that...really true?" a timid first year whimpered. "Are we...going to die?"

And just like that, cries of panic came from the crowd, until Umber stepped forward to silence them. "Everyone, remain calm!" she ordered. "You're hunters, act like it!"

In an instant, everyone went silent once more. Umber nodded in satisfaction, before speaking once more. "I know the situation seems bleak, but as long as you have the courage to fight, then nothing can go wrong. Even if some of you die, you'll be forever remembered as a true huntsman or huntress. So please, ready your arms and gather your will to fight, we don't have much time to prepare." Her eyes narrowed. "Understood?"

"Understood." Everyone in the crowd repeated in unison.

"Good," Umber said. "Everyone, hurry to the courtyard outside the front of the school, Team leaders, make sure everyone in your team is accounted for. You're all dismissed." She stepped off the stage, the Beacon students following behind her.

"Nora," Ren called softly, stepping next to the bomber. "If you don't want to fight, say it now. You've already been too close to death thanks to him."

Nora seemed to hesitate, before her eyes hardened with determination. "I'm fine," she assured sternly. "I can't back down, not now. It's going to take everyone, Ren." She looked away. "Besides, I still want to believe that...part of him is still in there. And if I get close to him, maybe...I can find him."

Ren frowned, knowing that was more than likely a fruitless effort, but he knew it wasn't his place to say. Nodding silently, he followed Nora to the courtyard, Stormflower in his hands.

Ruby took a deep breath as she stepped outside, Crescent Rose by her side. She stared out into the city of Mistral, her eyes searching for any sign of Nightmare. 'Jaune...' she thought sadly.

"Dude, this is crazy!" Neptune hissed to Sun as Team SSSN stood in the front lines. "Are we seriously gonna die, man?"

"Stay calm, man," Sun assured. "Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'the only thing to fear is fear itself'?"

"Did that guy also mention a monster who can destroy all of us without blinking?!"

"He's approaching," Bolin Hori of Team ABRN announced cryptically. Arslan tensed her muscles in preparation for the battle to come. Reese made sure her hover board was filled with the appropriate dust, while Nadir silently and nervously loaded his assault rifle.

'All of these people,' thought Blake as she stepped towards the front of the makeshift army. 'They have no idea what they're fighting against. Yet, despite their fear, they're going to fight anyway.'

She readied Gambol Shroud, her amber eyes narrowed. 'All I ever did was run,' she realized. 'Every time a new threat emerged, I ran.'

Even though she couldn't see him, Blake just knew that Nightmare was quickly approaching. 'Well, I'm done running!'

Just then, everyone heard a ferocious roar that seemed to shake the earth itself. Glancing down the mountain, all of the students froze when they saw the large man with the disturbing claw at the base, glaring up at them. The eye on his sword seemed to glow a bright blood red, adding to his intimidating appearance.

"Oh my God..." Mercury whispered. "It's him..."

At his side, Neo nodded, her eyes wide. The man from their dreams...he was right in front of them!

Nightmare stabbed his great sword into the earth, keeping it in place as he observed the makeshift army above. "Where is Cinder?" he boomed. "Bring her to me and I'll let...most of you live."

"That's a lie and you know it!" Ruby shouted back, making her way to the front of the group. "Jaune, we won't let you hurt anyone else!"

"You dare call me that name, you wretched bitch?!" Nightmare snarled, instantly picking up Soul Edge and pointing it at the young girl. "I'll rip your damn heart out!"

 _"Please...Leave them alone..."_ the pathetic knight's feeble voice begged from inside Nightmare's head, though the monster ignored it. With a fierce battle cry, he sprinted towards the students, intent on slaughtering them all.

"Everyone with guns, FIRE!" Ruby commanded, switching to leader mode. Everyone nodded and switched their weapons to long range, numerous dust rounds shooting out towards the azure knight.

Nightmare swung his sword, actually managing to slice one of Nora's grenades in half. It exploded in his face, but he jumped out of the flames unscathed, the other bullets bouncing off his armor harmlessly. Ren narrowed his eyes, and was the first to charge, alongside Sage, Sun, and Arslan. Ren leaped over a sword swing, Stormflower firing rapidly in vain hope of damaging the monster. Sage took this opportunity to swing his own sword at Nightmare, knocking him off balance briefly. Sun flipped over his teammate, driving his staff into Nightmare's helmet, giving time for Arslan to strike next.

Arlslan brought her palm back, before thrusting it forward. It connected with Nightmare's torso, sending the villain flying back and crashing into the side of the mountain. A dust cloud formed, and briefly all the hunters allowed themselves to let down their guard.

That was their mistake.

To their awe and horror, Nightmare leaped up into the air, cleaving his blade downwards. Sun, Ren, and Sage barely dodged in time, but Arslan wasn't so lucky. Everyone gasped when they saw their comrade sliced downed the middle, Soul Edge cutting straight through her aura. Before the three others had a chance to react, Nightmare swung at them, catching them all and sending them flying into the air. He jumped after them, and was about to strike down Ren when Blake appeared out of nowhere, wrapping Gambol Shroud's ribbon around Nightmare's arm and threw him back to the ground with all her strength.

Nightmare landed on his feet...right in the middle of all the Haven students. He had landed violently on top of Scarlet, crushing him. Stepping off the barely alive and broken boy, he glared at all the Haven students before charging at the nearest one. Neo gulped and narrowly dodged, teleporting away while Mercury tried to perform a low sweep. Nightmare caught the boy and slammed him into the ground, preparing to stab right through him when he heard Soul Edge speak.

 _"Not that one,"_ the sword said. _"Let him live, he will be of use to us."_

Nightmare nodded, turning around and hurling the blade into the back of one unfortunate huntress. He then turned to three more who were trying to attack him from behind. He ducked underneath the swing of a lance, uppercutting the opponent with enough force to break her neck, taking her out of the fight. He caught the other two and finished them off with a crushing claw. Just after that, a gunshot rang, a dust bullet hitting his leg and forcing him to his knee. Glancing down, he saw electrical sparks running through it, and looked up to see that Ruby was the one who fired.

Before he could rise to his feet, he was hit from behind by Nora's hammer, sending him crashing back. Growling in annoyance, he looked up to see a few teams of hunters charging at him with the hopes of killing him. Narrowing his eyes, he forced himself to his feet, ignoring the numbing feeling running up and down his leg. "Fools," he hissed before he blocked a strike coming from a fire sword. The flames licked the knight, but he punched the hunter away before turning to the others charging at him.

As the battle raged on, Neo observed from a safe distance, feeling a fear she never felt before. Her heart pounded, and her instincts begged her to turn tail and run. She caught sight of Mercury jogging over to her, and the two stood side by side, watching the carnage.

"There's no way they can win this," he said, watching as Ruby swung with Crescent Rose, only to be sent flying with a brutal punch to the gut. "Look how outnumbered he is, and yet he's still kicking their asses like no one's business." He turned to his fellow criminal and grabbed her arm. "We should get out of here while they're distracted."

Neo nodded, but before she could teleport them away Mercury shoved her out of his wave. "Look out!" he warned, catching the assailant with his boot. Neo turned around, and recoiled in disgust. The man Mercury stopped was absolutely horrifying to look at, with freakishly pale skin and an assortment of bondage gear. In his hands he wielded duel katars.

The man tilted his head, before letting out a strange growl and flipping away, landing on his hands and feet with his pelvis towards the two. Mercury and Neo shared a look, and nodded. Neo quickly dashed in, flipping over the man and attempting to daze him. However, the man anticipated it, twisting away from her and slashing at her. Neo barely blocked the attacks with her parasol, and Mercury attempted to down the man with a vicious kick to the head. Their opponent ducked, causing Mercury's attack to miss. The man dealt four swift blows to the assassin's legs, before grappling him and tossing him to the ground.

Neo teleported behind the man, but it was like he had second vision. He twisted around and swung his blades in unorthodox patterns, which Neo nimbly managed to dodge. She caught his arm between her legs, using the momentum to flip him over. However, the man landed squarely on his feet, and slid to the ground, bringing Neo down with him. He stabbed through the girl's chest, but was startled to see her simply shatter like glass. Standing up, he was suddenly kicked in the jaw by Mercury, and Neo appeared right above the mysterious fighter. She brought her heel down onto the man's skull, causing him to screech in pain.

He quickly wove away from the two, deciding to retreat for now. He slithered through the small army of students, cutting down anyone who got in his way. A bullet whizzed bast his head, and he turned around to see Blake charging at him, flinging Gambol Shroud's ribbon. The creature growled in annoyance, effortlessly dodging the attack and flipping over to meet his latest opponent. Their blades clashed, and at first they seemed to be on equal measure. However, the man was not to be underestimated. He quickly got the upper hand, forcing Blake to her knee.

Then, to his surprise, the faunus attacked him from behind, while the one he was facing faded away. He turned around and caught her foot, twisting her around and slamming her roughly onto the ground. He jumped into the air and prepared to take the girl's life, but she lifted her legs and catapulted him away. The man scrambled for a second, before his sightless eyes glared at Blake.

Blake was about to attack when Nightmare attempted to ambush her from behind. Blake cartwheeled out of the way, but was unfortunately knocked away by Soul Edge. Nightmare turned to the man, who bowed before him.

"Who are you?" the azure knight growled, turning around briefly to slaughter the next team that approached him.

 _"I...aMMMM VOLDO!"_ the creature hissed. _"I AM hERe tOOO serve SOUL EdGE!"_

 _"You can trust him,"_ Soul Edge assured. _"Voldo, a creature who served under a previous wielder long before your time."_

"Hmph," Nightmare grunted, before he nodded. "Prove yourself then, Voldo."

The creature nodded before slithering back into the fray, ducking and weaving through the young hunters attempting to cut him down. Nightmare turned around and slashed through a group of unfortunate students. With a roar full of blood lust, he slaughtered student after student, grabbing Bolin by his leg and slamming him over and over into the ground. He tossed the body away, before he set his sights on the two remaining members of Team ABRN.

Nadir gulped and protectively stood in front of Reese, who seemed to be in shock over the deaths of her teammates. Nightmare grinned at the easy prey, stalking towards them, taunting them. A student with a chainsaw attempted to attack him, but Nightmare effortlessly deflected the blow, easily stabbing through the boy.

Nadir was shaking, but he raised his rifle and fired. The ordinary bullets bounced harmlessly off of Nightmare's armor, causing the monster to laugh. Suddenly, another brief memory of the girl...the one with the bright red hair, flashed through his mind.

 _"I promise I'll protect you, Pyrrha."_

 _She giggled. "Oh, Jaune, are you going to be my knight in shining armor?" she teased, poking his stomach._

 _He grinned. "Hey, that's what partners are for!"_

Anger flashed through the azure knight's eyes. "You think you can protect her, fool?" he growled, stepping closer to the couple. "You're weal, just like he was."

"W-Who?" Nadir gasped, trying to keep calm. Reese was on her knees, her will to fight completely gone.

Nightmare was silent for a few moments. "It doesn't matter," he finally said, lifting Soul Edge. "Say your final prayers, mortal. Not that any god would listen."

A gunshot nicked his helmet before he could deliver the finishing blow, and he turned around, his eyes glaring. Ruby had fired the shot, with Blake, Ren, and Nora right behind her.

"You..." Nightmare snarled. "Why do you continue to fight me?!"

"Nightmare!" Ruby yelled. "I know you have Jaune in there somewhere, let him go!"

Nightmare almost laughed. _This_ was the girl's plan? To beg for him to let her friend go?! "Your friend is gone, girl," he told her. "There's no getting him back!"

"Jaune!" Ruby continued. "If you can hear me, let me know!" Her eyes began to tear up. "Please remember us, Jaune! Remember all of the good times we had!"

"Pathetic..." Nightmare hissed.

"Remember the first day we met?!" Ruby brought up. "We were both so clumsy and awkward, it was the reason we got along so well!"

A voice, one that Nightmare recognized, begged to be let out, though the azure knight did his best to ignore it.

"R-Remember that ursa you decapitated?" Ruby asked. "Even though Cardin bullied you, you still saved him in the end! This isn't you, Jaune! Let go of what Nightmare has done to you!"

 _"Ruby! I hear you! I remember!"_

"Shut...up...!" Nightmare grunted.

"Remember all of those pancakes we used to eat?" Nora chipped in.

"Or how we won our first match at the Vytal Festival?" Ren added.

"Or all those silly pick up lines you used to say?" Blake finished.

"Grrr...GRAH!" Nightmare roared, swinging his sword blindly as the boy's voice filled his senses.

 _"Stop listening to them!"_ Soul Edge warned.

"Remember all the good times, Jaune!" Ruby cried, feeling like they were finally getting somehwere. "Remember Team JNPR, Team RWBY, your seven sisters..." Finally, she took a deep breath, then shouted, "REMEMBER PYRRHA!"

"GAAAH!" Nightmare screamed, falling to the ground. He let go of Soul Edge and held his head in his hands. He took deep breaths, and Ruby dared to slowly approach him, kneeling down in front of him.

"Jaune, can you hear me?" she asked him, reaching for his helmet. She gently removed it from his head, receiving no protest. His familiar blonde locks fell on his face as he glanced up at her.

"Ruby...?"

Ruby felt tears form, and she quickly wrapped her arms around the boy, sobbing into his shoulder. It was him, it was _really him!_ "Jaune!" she sobbed. "I-I-I missed you so much!"

Jaune didn't move, showing no reaction to Ruby's break down. Around them, a few hunters had stopped the battle, watching the scene. Others still, kept up the fight against Voldo. But right now it didn't matter to Ruby. Jaune was back, and that's all that mattered...

"Ruby!" Blake cried out in horror, much to the girl's confusion. Suddenly, a giant claw snatched the girl up, squeezing her hard enough to practically crush her remaining aura.

Choking and gasping, Ruby looked down to see Jaune glaring at her with malice, his eyes red. He tightened his grip, slowly cutting off the girl's air supply.

The surrounding hunters charged at Nightmare, but the knight crouched and swiped Soul Edge around him, knocking everyone down. Then, he turned his attention back to Ruby, his lip curling into a look of disgust.

"You. Fucking. Bitch." he spat, slamming her into the ground. Ruby gasped and coughed up blood, trembling weakly as she felt her bones crack and splinter. Nightmare stood over her,. putting his helmet back on his head. "I'm going to kill you nice and slow, I want to savor your suffering!" He raised his sword, driving it through Ruby. It tore right through her flesh, though it didn't hit anything fatal. Ruby screamed in pain, though no one was in enough shape to help her. She was alone, everyone who could fight was too busy dealing with Voldo.

"You've been a thorn in my side since the beginning, Ruby Rose," he told her. "I'll crush your very soul, just like I did to that weak little boy."

He raised Soul Edge high above his head, about to drive it through his victim again. Ruby closed her eyes, expecting the end to come.

It never did.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY SISTER!"

A loud shotgun blast was heard, sending Nightmare flying back. He landed on his back, quickly scrambling up to meet his new opponent.

Ruby opened her eyes and gasped. "Yang..."

Yang Xiao Long stood between Ruby and Nightmare, her aura flaring to life as her eyes glowed a red they never had before.

...

 **Leaving it off right here for now, fellas. Yup, Yang to the rescue! Only maybe one more chapter or two of this arc left to go, and then it's on to the next one! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this. Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Alrighty, welcome back, everybody! I haven't got much to say this time around (other than holy shit, Ren's backstory O_O), so I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

 **...**

Yang's eyes widened as she observed the scene below from the bullhead above. All of Haven's students, practically an army, being decimated by some sort of...monster. What the hell was going on?! Yang was about to leap out of the aircraft when General Ironwood held his arm out. "Wait." he ordered. "We can't just rush in, Miss Xiao Long."

"But they're dying down there!" Yang protested, eyes briefly blazing red. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"We will strike when the moment is right," the general said, before looking at her. "Miss Xi- Yang, we can't blindly charge into battle without first planning out a strategy. Surely your father must've taught you that?" His eyes wandered towards her robotic arm, which had one half of Ember Celica on it.

Yang caught the general's eyes, and she frowned. As much as she hated to admit it, Ironwood was right. The last time she charged into battle without thought, it resulted in her near death. Sighing, the blonde bombshell nodded reluctantly, and she forced herself to simply watch the carnage from above.

The monster was swinging his sword with wild speed, sweeping helpless victims off of their feet. When they rose to the air, the monster brought his sword down, cleaving through them. It made Yang sick that such brutality existed, and she wondered who the man in the blue armor was, and why he was attacking everyone. The man cackled maniacally as he carved his way through the hunters in training, blood splattering over his armor. A few yards away, Yang could see an equally disturbing creature contorting itself into impossible positions, weaving around the students and cutting them down.

Movement from another direction caught Yang's eye, and when she turned to glance at it she froze. 'Blake..?' she thought.

The faunus and Yang's former partner was painfully rising to her feet, clutching her gut. Apparently, she had just received an aura-denting blow.

"Blake..." Yang whispered, eyes wide. What...What was Blake doing here? Was she always here? And if she was here, could that mean...?

"Weiss?" the blonde wondered, searching the battlefield. No, the heiress wasn't anywhere to be found.

Then, suddenly...

"Nightmare!" cried out an all too familiar squeak. Yang choked as she watched Ruby approach the monster.

'No, Ruby!' Yang cried inside her mind, and she would've leaped down right then if Ironwood still hadn't been keeping her still.

"I know you still have Jaune somewhere inside you, let him go!" Ruby demanded in a loud, echoing voice, allowing Yang to hear her perfectly.

Wait, what?! 'Jaune!' Yang glanced at the thing Ruby was talking to, feeling a lump in her throat. No way... There was no way that thing could be Jaune...

The thing, which Ruby called Nightmare, laughed. "You're friend is gone, girl." he taunted. "There's no getting him back!"

"Jaune! If you can hear me, let me know!" Ruby sounded close to tears, and Yang's big sister instincts kicked in. She glared down at Nightmare, eyes red.

'Listen to her, Jaune,' she sent a silent message to him. 'Don't make me have to hurt you!'

Ruby, along with Blake, Ren, and Nora, continued to plead, trying to get to the knight inside the armor. Yang noticed that it seemed to affect the knight, as he began swinging his sword wildly in some vain attempt to block out the girl's words. Yang could've sworn that she could actually hear the argument going off in the azure knight's head.

"Remember all the good times, Jaune!" Ruby continued, her voice filled with emotion Yang was not used to hearing from the young girl. "Remember Team JNPR, Team RWBY, your seven sisters. REMEMBER PYRRHA!"

Nightmare let out a roar that seemed to shake the earth, and he fell to his knees with a loud _thud._ Yang could only watch in awe as Ruby slowly walked up to the knight, removing his helmet and revealing his face to the world.

Yang frowned. It was Jaune, alright... But how did this happen, she wondered. What happened that turned Jaune into some sort of gruesome murderer?

"Ruby!" Blake then shouted, and Yang watched in horror as Jaune went berserk, absolutely decimating Ruby and whatever aura she had left.

"No!" Yang cried as she tried to leap out of the bullhead once more. Ironwood grabbed her as her feet left the floor, yanking her back into the aircraft. "Miss Xiao Long!" he growled. "We can't risk a thoughtless attack!"

"He's got my sister, you bastard!" Yang growled, shoving the general out of her way. Loading Ember Celica, she leaped out of the bullhead, screaming, "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" She fired, the kinetic blast fully connecting with Nightmare, who was sent flying back. Yang landed in front of Ruby, protectively standing over her as she stared down the monster that dared hurt her little sister.

"Yang..." the blonde heard Ruby hoarsely whisper.

Yang's hair began to glow and her eyes were a sinister red. Nightmare slowly rose to his feet and chuckled.

"I must admit, that was quite impressive," he told her, shouldering Soul Edge. His own red eyes glared right back at Yang. "However, you've simply sealed your fate, woman. Nothing will stop me from killing Cinder, and I'll destroy anyone who gets in my way!"

'What the hell is this guy talking about?' Yang wondered, raising her fists. "Show me how well you can back those words up, then," she hissed. "You hurt my little sister, so it's about time I started kicking your ass!"

With a cry, she charged, pulling her fist back with the intent of pummeling Nightmare through a wall. Nightmare sidestepped, swinging Soul Edge. Yang ducked under his attack, infiltrating his guard and uppercutting him away. The blow knocked off Nightmare's helmet, revealing Jaune's face to her.

Nightmare gritted his teeth, and thrust his sword at Yang. Yang leaped over it, bringing her elbow down to Nightmare's skull. However, Nightmare saw it coming. Twisting away, he caught her human arm with his claw, and slammed her into the ground before effortlessly tossing her into the air. He swung Soul Edge, intent on cleaving the blonde in two. Yang reacted quickly, using her shotgun blasts to propel herself out of his range.

She landed gracefully with a flip, immediately firing dust round after dust round at Nightmare. The azure knight barreled through them, swatting the rounds away like flies. He leaped into the air and brought Soul Edge down on the brawler. Yang rolled out of harm's way, taking some brief time to assess the situation like her father had taught her.

'He's a lot faster than I thought,' she realized. 'We're both practically dodging the other's attacks, basically making my semblance useless!' She charged, sliding underneath Nightmare and popping up from behind him. She threw a left hook, but the knight blocked it, clenching his claw into a fist and hitting her like a truck. Yang flew back, crashing into a nearby tree. She groaned, but she felt her semblance flicker. 'Even if my semblance _does_ activate, it won't do any good if he can just block, dodge, and parry!'

Nightmare charged, giving Yang very little room to breathe and he wildly swung his sword in an attempt to slice her in half. Yang put all her energy into dodging and throwing punches, a lucky few managing to connect with the massive knight. Yang then jumped away as Nightmare slammed his sword down, causing the ground to crack and explode with dirt and rubble.

Suddenly, a second opponent ambushed Yang from behind, slashing at her back and kicking her away. Yang skidded, but stayed on her feet, hissing in pain as she realized her aura didn't take the full hit. Looking up, she saw Voldo, the vile creature, crouching a few yards away from her, his head tilted as he stared at her with his blind eyes. Nightmare chuckled and stepped away, picking up his helmet and placing it back over his face.

"You're outnumbered, woman," he said, smirking underneath his helmet. "You are no match for our darkness..."

He snapped his fingers, and Voldo charged like an obedient attack dog, raising his katars with the hopes of turning Yang into ribbons.

Before he could, however, his attack was intercepted by a shadow, who pushed the creature back to its master. "No, she's not outnumbered!" Blake hissed, pointing Gambol Shroud at the azure knight.

Yang's eyes widened as she watched her former partner defend her. "Blake...?"

Blake turned to look back at Yang, and smiled. "I'm not leaving you behind again," she told the blonde. "We're partners, and partners stay together."

Yang nodded, happy to hear those words come from Blake. She stepped forward, standing side by side with the faunus. "Ready to show them how ol' Bumblebee gets it done?" she asked, reloading Ember Celica.

"Hmph," Blake grunted, smirking. "I always did hate that name..."

Then they charged, as did Nightmare and Voldo. The two duos clashed, Yang trading blows with Voldo as Blake snaked her way around Nightmare, easily gaining the speed advantage. Nightmare ducked underneath an overhead attack, lashing out with a kick that the faunus barely avoided. She landed beside Yang, and the two switched opponents, Blake sliding underneath Voldo's legs and flipping him onto his back while Yang jammed her fist into Nightmare's hip.

Nightmare growled and stabbed Soul Edge into the ground, keeping it in place. He then blocked Yang's next punch, grabbing the back of her head and brutally smashing her skull into the sword's hilt over and over. Yang felt blood drip down her face as Nightmare finally let her go, and she caught sight of Blake throwing Gambol Shroud in its ribbon form. Thinking quickly, the bombshell grabbed it, and began running away from Nightmare.

Blake began to swing her weapon in a circle with Yang at the end of it, and Nightmare was taken aback when he was hit by a devastating punch which sent him flying. Yang stumbled as she landed, but stayed on her feet. She turned to Blake, and the two shared a brief smile.

Suddenly Voldo appeared out of nowhere, and as fast as lightning he dove between the two with his hands out front, slashing Gambol Shroud's ribbon in half. Blake's eyes widened at the sight of her weapon being partly destroyed, and Voldo quickly took advantage of this. He slithered around the faunus like a snake, before tossing her into the air and leaping after her. He cackled as he swiped his katars at her, sending her crashing back into the ground.

"NO!" Yang cried, but before she could make a move she was knocked back by Nightmare. The knight slammed his foot into her torso, and Yang felt her aura slip away. 'My semblance...isn't working?'

"I'll admit. you put up a good fight," Nightmare praised. "But do you know how many souls I have consumed, how much power I have gained? Try as you might, you can never stop me, I am much too powerful!" He cackled, and raised Soul Edge high above his head. "This ends now!"

...

Raven dodged another fireball that was launched in her direction, smirking underneath her grimm mask. "I should've known you still had some fight left," she said to the Fall Maiden.

Cinder gritted her teeth, before she summoned her two glass swords. Before she could make a move, however, Umber charged at her with her baton held high. She brought the club down at Cinder, but the maiden dodged it nimbly, blasting the headmistress back as she ducked underneath a swipe from Raven. She kicked the woman in the gut, and began delivering swift sword strikes left and right, which Raven struggled to block.

"You're pretty good..." Raven commented, just before she swept Cinder off of her feet, driving her sword downward. Cinder rolled out of the way, and sidestepped Umber's attack, slashing at the woman from behind. Umber hissed in pain before she stood beside Raven, the two glaring at the Fall Maiden. Cinder narrowed her eyes as well. 'Enough of this!' she thought, letting the full power of the maidens flow through her. 'I blow this whole damn school up!' She began to rise up, flames surrounding her as her eyes began to glow.

Raven gasped, and she grabbed Umber's arm, yanking her away. "Shit, run!"

...

Nightmare paused, his blade an inch away from Yang's throat. He glanced up, just in time to see the entire building of Haven Academy _explode,_ sending debris everywhere and killing the unlucky survivors who were too close. In the middle of the wreckage stood a very familiar woman. Nightmare's eyes narrowed as he approached her, completely forgetting about Yang. "Cinder..." he growled underneath his breath.

As if she heard it, Cinder turned around, facing the azure knight. Nightmare gritted his teeth, and his grip on Soul Edge tightened. "CINDER!" he roared at the top of his lungs.

Cinder stared at the knight, before she smirked. She took a few steps closer to him, chuckling. She then opened her mouth, and spoke to the best of her ability. "So...you're the one looking to kill me?" she rasped, chuckling some more. "How foolish... Only a complete moron with a death wish would challenge a maiden!"

"I don't need your approval, woman!" Nightmare hissed, raising Soul Edge. "You're just another mortal for me to kill!"

Cinder looked Nightmare up and down, laughing. "I think I recall you..." she muttered. "Yes, despite the radically different look, it _is_ you. The boy with the sword and shield, the one who failed to save Amber, and the one who failed to save Pyrrha Nikos. So you've come here for revenge? How cute..."

A fire sparked inside Nightmare, and he rushed forward faster than most people could even comprehend. Cinder leaped away, her swords changing into a bow. She fired a single arrow which shot into Nightmare's shoulder, causing him to hiss in pain. He yanked it out, and blocked Cinder's fire just in time. The flames licked Soul Edge, but did not harm it. Cinder frowned, and she floated up into the air beyond Nightmare's reach. A storm cloud appeared overhead, and suddenly hail fired out of it at a deadly speed. Most of it bounced off of Nightmare's armor harmlessly, but a few pushed him back.

Cinder dropped to the ground, sprinting towards Nightmare with her blade held high. Nightmare did not have time to block, and to his surprise, the Fall Maiden's weapons actually cut _through_ his armor! Nightmare stumbled back, gasping due to the unexpected pain. Cinder chuckled darkly. "I suppose you weren't expecting that," she teased. "I am much more powerful than you thought, dear Jaune."

"...don't call me that." Nightmare grunted. He readied himself again, glaring at the woman whom he needed to kill. "You will die here, Cinder, even if you end up tearing me apart! I am Nightmare! I am not that weak fool, Jaune Arc! I will do what he could not, I will _drown you in blood and darkness!"_

"Brave words," Cinder commented, before she charged once more. Nightmare was ready this time, blocking and sliding the the side, kicking out towards the maiden. Cinder flipped out of the way, launching three arrows without warning. Nightmare cleaved his way through them, leaping into the air and sending Soul Edge crashing down. Cinder dove out of the way and continued shooting arrow after arrow, which sunk into Nightmare's back. The azure knight ignored the pain, and he swung Soul Edge as far as it could reach. If Cinder hadn't once again dodged, it surely would've hit her.

Nightmare gave the woman no time to breathe, quickly entering her guard and picking her up with his giant claw. Cinder gasped in surprise, and Nightmare brgan crushing her with his claw. Cinder hissed in pain as she felt her aura waver, but she concentrated her energy into one burst attack, which scorched Nightmare's claw and forced him to let go.

Cinder slashed at Nightmare's legs, bringing him to his knees. She attempted to stab through his head, but he rolled out of the way and kicked at her again, hitting her back and sending her away. Cinder slid a couple of feet, before she summoned more weather. Lightning struck at Nightmare, but he avoided them all as he ran to the maiden. He swung Soul Edge upwards, which connected. Cinder felt herself get launched into the air, when Nightmare proceeded to slash at her again and again, her aura barely keeping the sword from carving through her.

Cinder landed painfully on her back, and she barely rolled out of the way of Nightmare's stomp. She rose to her feet and fired an arrow, which stuck through Nightmare's foot, painfully pinning him in place. Not wasting any time, Cinder fired another one, catching his other foot. Arrow after arrow pierced through Nightmare, and he was soon kneeling on the ground in agony.

'Impossible,' he thought. 'How...how could I...be losing?'

 _"Do not fail me, Nightmare!"_ Soul Edge commanded. _"It is not your time yet!"_

'I...can't move...' Nightmare pointed out as another arrow went through his gut.

 _"What about your revenge?!"_ Soul Edge argued.

'Revenge...'

 _"Pyrrha!"_ the voice inside him cried out, and he could feel him fighting for some degree of control. Nightmare narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.

'Fool...' he told the voice. 'You cries for your love will get you nowhere...'

Cinder stepped closer, her swords gleaming with the intent to kill. "How pitiful," she sarcastically mourned. "I was hoping for a bit more...stimulation." She put the blades against his throat, leaning in to whisper, "Say hello to your pretty girlfriend for me, wherever she may be."

'But just this once...' Nightmare thought. 'I'll willingly give you control. If your desire for revenge is what you need, then do not fail me, you idiot boy!'

 _"Pyrrha!"_

The knight suddenly shoved Cinder away, much to her surprise. "How.." she whispered, watching as he stood up and picked up Soul Edge.

 _"Pyrrha!"_

Cinder gritted her teeth. She would finish this, no matter what! Letting out a cry, she charged at the knight. The knight charged as well, using the last of his strength.

 _"Pyrrha!"_

Cinder grinned in satisfaction as she felt her blades stab through the knight stopping him in his tracks. She shook her head lightly, and was about to comment on her victory when blood leaked from her mouth, and she became still as she slumped forward.

Blue eyes changed back into red as Nightmare yanked Soul Edge out of Cinder, letting her dead body crumple on the ground. "You've learned, boy..." he whispered, briefly recalling his battle with Qrow. "But don't expect this favor again..." He felt Cinder's soul rush into him, and he felt better than he ever had, despite his wounds.

"No..." Ren murmured from afar, clutching his bleeding torso.

Nightmare began to cackle, savoring his victory. "This power!" he cried. "This power is unlike anything I've felt before! I feel like I can take on the world!"

 _"Then what's stopping you?"_ Soul Edge asked. _"Now that you have a maiden's soul, as well as one of my shards, you can very well do that. Our next stop is to the north."_

Nightmare turned to the demon sword, noticing it looked a lot more...fleshy and complete than before. "And what of the survivors of this battle?" he asked. "Should I finish them off?"

 _"No need to,"_ Soul Edge said. _"We have what we came for. Let them suffer in the deaths of their friends."_

Nightmare nodded, and wordlessly he began walking away, leaving the broken battlefield behind as Voldo followed him.

However, something caught his eye, and when he turned around he saw two of the students staring at him with both fright and awe. One of them he recognized as the student Soul Edge had him spare, while the other was a girl colored brown, pink, and white. Nightmare stared at the two for what may have seem like countless minutes, before he asked Soul Edge, "what should we do with them?"

 _"Perhaps they may be willing to become followers of me,"_ Soul Edge suggested.

Nightmare grunted, before he turned back to the teenagers. "What are your names?" he asked them.

"M-Mercury..." the boy answered, before pointing to the girl. "And that's Neo..."

"Hmph." Nightmare stabbed Soul Edge into the ground, crossing his arms. "I will give you two choices: Join me and live, or refuse and die. Make your decision quick, I suspect Voldo is wishing to spill blood."

Neo and Mercury shared a glance, before slowly they bowed, silently giving their answer. Nightmare smirked underneath his helmet. "Good," was all he said before he picked up Soul Edge and began walking away, Voldo at his heels. Mercury and Neo stood up and began to follow wordlessly. Mercury had his fists clenched, wondering how the hell he ended up in this situation.

Neo, on the other hand... Neo was grinning almost madly. Finally, another person to fill that void that Roman had left in her heart when he had died!

She silently promised to serve Nightmare until either his death or hers.

...

A few hours later, the mood surrounding Haven and its surviving students was grim.

Many had been lost, and despite the search effort, Ironwood could not find where Nightmare had disappeared off to. Nadir and Reese had disappeared shortly after the battle, most likely to go pay their respects to their lost teammates. Umber refused to get treatment for her injuries, and Emerald was being held custody inside Mistral's jail.

Sun stared blankly into the window that showed two patients in critical health. Scarlet and Ruby were given the same hospital room, allowing Sun to view both. It was gut wrenching to see these two barely hanging on to life after their brutal defeat. Scarlet was one of Sun's closest friends, his teammate, and Ruby was...Ruby.

"How are they?" a voice behind him asked. Turning around, he saw that it was Yang who had asked him. Sun shook his head and frowned. "Not too good," he admitted. "The doctors said they'll live, but it could take them a long time to recover..."

Yang clenched her fist, slamming it into a wall. "How could this happen?!" she hissed. "I'm supposed to protect Ruby, but here she is, comatose in a hospital!" She sank to her knees, shaking her head. "I'm a horrible sister...If only I was there from the start, if only I wasn't so depressed back then...then maybe I could've-"

"Don't say things like that," Sun interrupted. "Ruby wouldn't want to see you moping about, y'know. She'd want you to be back up on your feet, more ready to fight than ever."

"I..." Yang looked away. "I can't... Blake, Ren, and Nora said that tomorrow, they'd be going after Nightmare again. I'd go with them, but..." She looked into the window, her eyes fixed on Ruby. "My sister needs me."

Sun was silent for a few moments. "Then I'll go," he finally said.

"What?"

"I'm going with them," Sun explained, clenching his fists. "Nightmare did this to Scarlet, and he needs to be stopped. That, and someone has to look after Blake..." He forced a grin on his face. "You know how she is..."

Yang smirked, and nodded. "Yeah..."

"Speaking of which, you should go talk to her," Sun reminded his fellow blonde. "That, and your mom while your at it. I'm sure there's a lot of things that need to be talked about, huh?"

Yang seemed hesitant for a few moments, before she nodded slowly. "You're right," she finally said. She began walking away, saying "thanks, Sun," over her shoulder. She then paused, and turned back around, her eyes red. "And make sure to kick Nightmare's ass when you catch up to him," she reminded the monkey faunus. "I don't care who he used to be at this point, he just needs to pay for what he did to everyone, what he did to Ruby."

...

 **And that's it for now! Next few chapters will involve Yang confronting both of the women who left her, Team BRWN's journey to Atlas, Nightmare and his scary crew, aaaand...wait for it...WEISS! :D**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the month long wait, everyone, a lot of shit has been going down. The end of the school year is approaching faster than I thought, so schoolwork has been taking up majority of my free time. With that, there's also the musical I'm part of, as well as a crippling amount of depression due to...recent events. But I don't want to delay this anymore than I already have, so please sit back and enjoy the chapter!**

 **...**

 _"Jaune...you're thinking too hard again."_

 _He glanced up, staring blankly at the Mistral champion. He blinked several times, his thoughts returning to the outside world. "Was I?" he asked, glancing away. "Sorry..."_

 _The girl frowned and shook her head, stepping forward and placing a comforting hand on her partner's shoulder. "We all make mistakes, Jaune," she told him gently. "Don't blame yourself for what happened, it's going to be fine."_

 _He shook his head. "Is it?" he muttered. "I'm supposed to be the leader, and yet all I did was lead us into a trap." He covered his face with his hands. "I should've listened to Ren... If I did, then Nora wouldn't be-"_

 _"Jaune!" his partner exclaimed, throwing her arms around the young knight. "None of us had any way of knowing what would happen, stop blaming yourself for something we had no control over!" She buried her face in his shoulder. "Please...I hate seeing you like this, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself..."_

 _He hesitated, but eventually gave in and returned the embrace he had received. He glanced at the window they were standing next to, which showed the 'N' of their team resting on a hospital bed. His eyes narrowed when he saw the wires hooked onto her, and guilt once again churned inside his belly._

 _"She's...she's really hurt..." he whispered, which the girl he held heard._

 _She frowned and bit her lip. "She's a lot tougher than she looks," she reassured. "She'll pull through, right in time for the Vytal Festival!"_

 _"Yeah..." he agreed halfheartedly. "She'll be fine."_

 _'How many more times will my team get hurt before I can be a proper leader?' he asked himself, hugging the girl once more._

 _..._

 _"Nora..."_

Nightmare opened his eyes at the mention of the name. His grip on Soul Edge tightened, and with a snarl he swung it around, nearly cleaving Mercury and chopping down a tree. The assassin glanced down at the tree with shock and a slight hint of fear, and he shakily turned towards his new boss. "Um...something wrong, Mr. Nightmare, sir?" he gulped.

The azure knight glared daggers at his newest lackey. "That's none of your damn business, boy!" he hissed, before he stormed off. Mercury shared a glance with Neo, who had concern laced in her multicolored eyes. Not for her partner, but for the monster they now served under. Meanwhile, Voldo silently observed the scene from the tree branch where he sat. He tilted his head, before turning to face behind him.

They had long since left the city of Mistral, and were now approaching the sea that served as the end of Anima. Unlike the area located between Anima and Sanus, the sea between Anima and Solitas was too vast for the four to reach Atlas in time, where Soul Edge sensed the next shard. Therefore, Nightmare reluctantly decided that it was back to square one, and now they were above the sea side village Nightmare had destroyed some time ago.

Voldo hissed to himself, hopping down from his perch and landing beside Mercury, who shrank away. The two looked at each other, before the vile creature Voldo hissed once more and followed after his master. Mercury shuddered to himself, muttering, "damn creep..."

The boy had not given up, Nightmare realized as he stomped through the forest. It seemed that allowing him to kill Cinder only made him stronger, and it was beginning to annoy- and worry him. He wouldn't let that weak fool return, he couldn't. He could feel Soul Edge looking at him. _"Something troubles you?"_ it asked.

"None of your concern," Nightmare growled underneath his breath, before he paused. He sighed. "The boy continues to struggle."

 _"What?"_ Soul Edge hissed, eye widening. _"The boy is much more persistent than I thought...No matter, in time, he will be crushed alongside everyone else who stands in our way."_

A sudden touch on his monstrous arm startled Nightmare, and when he turned around he saw Neo looking up at him. "What is it?" Nightmare asked curtly, not in the mood to entertain another.

Neo tilted her head and smiled, using her fingers to trace it. Then, she pointed at Nightmare, lightly tapping his armor. Nightmare stared at the tiny criminal in confusion, and Neo repeated the action a few more times before the knight finally had enough. Growling in annoyance, he slapped the girl's hand away and continued his trek. Neo stared after him, before sadly following after him.

'I am surrounded by idiots,' the knight thought, slicing away another tree.

...

It had gone wrong.

It had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Weiss kept her head down and focused her eyes on her lap, refusing to look her father in the eye. No, she could never look him in the eye again. She had to escape this hellhole. She had to escape her father, her brother, the entire kingdom of Atlas!

But how could she now?

Jacques Schnee glared down at his youngest daughter, frown twitching as he folded his arms. He tapped his foot impatiently, raising an eyebrow. "Well?" he asked. "Do you have nothing to say, young lady?"

The former heiress flinched but did not answer, instead wringing her hands together nervously.

Jacques sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head lightly. "I've tried to be a good father, I've tried to keep you safe, and I've tried to give you the attention you apparently needed," he said. "And yet...you spat in my face and threw away the love I tried to give you." He narrowed his eyes and balled his hands into face. "You've disgraced the family name for the last time, Weiss. I will not tolerate any more of your half-assed rebelling!" Weiss still did not glance up. Jacques gritted his teeth and suddenly slammed his fist into a wall. "Look at me!" he roared.

Weiss jumped and quickly looked up, forcing herself to stare at her father. She did not make contact with his eyes, instead opting to gaze at his forehead. Jacques did not notice, as he turned away and began pacing. "Tell me," he demanded. "Did you honestly believe you could run away? Did you really think you wouldn't be caught trying?" He sighed and stopped pacing, turning his head to face his daughter. "Running away is something only a child would think of, young lady. You've disappointed me. You're a Schnee, you should take your punishment with pride."

Weiss scoffed as a new fire suddenly surged inside her. Standing up, she marched straight up to her father and jabbed her finger in his chest, pushing him back. "Take my punishment with pride? That's a Schnee's way?" she mocked. "What would you know about _any_ of that?! You're not even a Schnee by blood! All you've done is trick Grandfather into giving you his company, and you ran it into the ground! And what would you know about _punishment?!_ You're no better than a spoiled brat just like Whitley! All you do is manipulate others to get what _you_ want, and you don't give a damn who suffers for it!"

Jacques growled in anger and raised his hand to slap Weiss across the face, though he hesitated when the girl did not flinch. She simply glared at him with her eyes full of hatred. Reluctantly, the SDC president lowered his hand and brushed his suit.

"I will escape this place," he heard his daughter snarl. "I won't stop trying, _Father._ And once I am out of here, I'll make sure everyone sees you for the heartless bastard you really are!"

This caused the businessman to pause, and he felt his anger flare up once more. However, he quickly simmered it down and locked eyes with his daughter. "Klein has been permanently removed from his services," he explained with eerie calm. "And until we may hire a new head servant, you will remain in your room." He pointed at her, secretly savoring the look of panic that flashed across her face at the mention of Klein. "If I notice even a hint of your leave, then you will be punished severely. In order to prevent that, a guard will be stationed in front of your door."

Weiss stared after her father as he exited her room and shut the door. The moment she heard the click, she let out a roar of frustration and slammed her hands onto the wall. 'Dammit!' she mentally yelled. 'How could I be so stupid?!' She sank to her knees after a moment, and buried her face in her hands. "Klein..." she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry... I was stupid to think I could leave this place, and now I've gotten you fired..."

"Truly is a shame, isn't it, sister?" a familiar, devilish voice asked.

Weiss's eyes flared, and she whipped around to see her younger brother, Whitley, leaning against the door frame, casually glancing down at his neatly trimmed fingernails. The former heiress stood up and stomped towards her scheming sibling, not stopping until she was mere inches away from his face. "What do you want?" she hissed. "Are you here to gloat? Are you here to put me down in hopes of raising your own arrogance?"

Whitley raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. "No," he answered. "Klein was a good man, a good one to keep around. It really won't be the same without him anymore..." Before Weiss could open her mouth to speak, the younger Schnee ducked past her and into her room, stepping towards the center and spinning around on his heel. "Truth be told, I'm not here to cause any more strife between us, sister."

"Then what are you here for?" Weiss demanded, clenching her fists. "I doubt you're here to comfort me." She narrowed her eyes. "You're just like Father."

Whitley pretended to clutch his heart. "Sister, that hurts." he mockingly gasped. "I'll have you know that you're not the only one with unpopular opinions about Father. Just because I can _act_ like I'm on his side, doesn't mean I am."

Weiss hesitated. "What are you talking about...?"

Whitley slyly smirked. "You're looking for a way to escape Atlas, aren't you?" he inquired, before following with, "I think I might be able to assist you with that."

Weiss was stunned for a few moments, but she soon recovered and cocked her hip to the side, one hand on it. "You?" the ice queen deadpanned.

Whitley chuckled. "Who else?"

"And why are you willing to help me?" Weiss scoffed. "Out of the goodness of your heart?"

The younger Schnee shrugged. "If you'd like to take it that way," he replied, taking an exaggerated step towards his sister. "In truth, I'm doing this because you don't need to be here. I'm the heir of the Schnee Dust Company now, so it will be I who attends all of the events and attracts all of the press. To have you remain here would be pointless and pitiful."

"So I'm just unwanted baggage?"

"That sounds about right, yes."

Weiss scowled. "You're a bastard, Whitley."

Whitley scoffed and shook his head. "I must lack a father to earn that title," he pointed out, before extending his hand. "So, dear sister, what will it be? Are you going to let me allow your escape, or are you going to continue to sulk in your room?"

Weiss stared at her brother's hand for several moments, wondering if this was a good idea... Whitley was a trickster at heart, manipulating things from behind the scenes. Hell, his entire plan the entire time was to strip Weiss of her title, which he did so with disturbing ease. He could very well be trying to fool her once again, and will simply try leaving her to the dogs. At the same time, however, that cunning could also be her savior... No doubt that if the younger Schnee truly did want to help his sister, then her escape was set in stone.

This was a deal with the devil.

But what alternatives did she have left?

She glanced up at Whitley's face, coiling back when she saw the fox-like grin etched onto his face. Exactly...a deal with the worst devil of them all.

Weiss closed her eyes and took her brother's hand, shaking it. She opened them to see Whitley beam brightly. "Excellent!" he exclaimed, perking up. He wagged his finger at Weiss, sidestepping out of the way and into the hall. "Pack your bags, dear sister!" he ordered. "Tonight, you'll be free from this place. I hope you're ready!" And with those words, he vanished, leaving Weiss alone in her room to think about her split second decision.

Would Whitley truly be able to help her? Or would he lead her on at first, and then throw her back to Father? Weiss sighed and sat down on her bed, exhaustion finally taking over. She glanced over at the suitcase sitting across the room, still full of the clothing she had prepared the night before. 'Well, at least I don't have to pack this time,' she thought, trying to make light of the situation. The former heiress collapsed onto the bed, her head resting on one of the silk pillows. 'I might as well get some rest...'

...

Ruby wasn't feeling good. There was a strange feeling churning inside her stomach, and she felt like she was going to throw up any minute. She had just woken up after some intensive care, and immediately Yang had burst into the room, rushing towards her younger sister's side. "Ruby!" she exclaimed. "You're awake!" With blinding speed, she scooped the small girl into her arms, practically suffocating poor Ruby with her bust.

"Y-Yang..." Ruby groaned. "Can't breathe...headache..."

Yang pulled away and scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm just...so happy you're okay. You were out since yesterday."

"...what happened?" Ruby wondered, her memory blurry. She could remember...a battle...a knight, unbearable pain, and... She gasped. "Jaune!" she cried, clutching her blankets. "Is he okay?"

Yang's eyes hardened, and Ruby flinched when she saw them briefly flash red. "Jaune's gone," she stated, voice suddenly void of emotion. "Nightmare is in control now. Cinder's dead...many others are too. Nora, Sun, Ren, and Blake are setting off first thing tomorrow to go after him."

Jaune was gone... The words stung. Ruby looked away so her sister couldn't see the tears that were beginning to form. "O-Oh..." she choked. "I-I see..."

"Ruby, look at me." the blonde bombshell ordered. Ruby hesitated, but obeyed. She sniffed and wiped a stray tear away. Yang watched this, and slowly brought the younger girl in for a gentle hug. "I know this must be hard..." she whispered. "But it's going to be okay, I promise you." She ran her hand through Ruby's hair. "I'm here for you..."

Ruby choked once more, and her lip began to quiver. Finally, she broke, and she flung herself into Yang, crying into her shoulder. "It's just...not fair!" she sobbed. "Jaune never deserved this! All he ever wanted was to be happy!"

"I know..." Yang said.

A sudden cough interrupted the two, and they glanced to the side to see Raven standing at the doorway. Almost instinctively, Yang glared at the older woman. Raven was not fazed, and merely raised an eyebrow. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything?" she asked.

Yang was about to retort, when Ruby suddenly intervened, her voice full of forced cheer. "Of course not!" she exclaimed. "Is there something you need?"

"Actually, there is," said Raven. "I was hoping to have a word with my daughter."

"Well she's right here," Yang growled. "Although, maybe she's in a bit of a bad mood right now."

"Then perhaps it'll lead to something interesting," Raven immediately shot back, gesturing towards her daughter. "Now, are we going to talk?"

Yang didn't answer immediately, instead turning towards Ruby. The younger huntress nodded, and Yang could only sigh. Of course Ruby would say, 'go ahead'... Standing up, she approached her mother cautiously, and the two stepped out of the room. Mother and daughter now stood outside in the hallway, eyes locked onto each other.

"I suppose you have a few questions for me," Raven guessed.

"Oh, you think?" Yang hissed. "Where the hell have you been, for one!"

"Around," Raven mentioned vaguely, before her eyes went hollow. "Your uncle is dead."

Yang's eyes widened and her heart thumped inside her chest. "What?" she gasped. "Qrow is..." Her eyes blazed. "Who the hell opens up with that?!"

Raven sighed and looked away. "Yang..." she said. "There's so many things I want to tell you, but I can't say all of them right now." She looked straight into her daughter's eyes. "Right now, there's something I think you should be doing."

"And what the hell would that be?!" the blonde growled.

"Talking to Blake." Yang froze at these words, and Raven took this chance to continue. "You're her partner, aren't you? She'll be leaving for Atlas soon, so I suggest you take what time you have to patch things up between you two." She winked. "After all, I'm not going anywhere, so you have all the time in the world for me."

"...I..." Yang sighed. "I would, but...I just don't know how to even talk to her. We left off on a bad note, and-"

"Yang," her mother cut in. "Back when I was attending Beacon, Summer and I were partners. She was...my very first friend, if I recall." She smirked. "Do you know how often we were on each other's bad side?" When Ysng didn't answer, Raven continued. "Nearly all four years. But in the end, we trusted and loved one another, no matter what." She cautiously reached out and grabbed her daughter's shoulder, sighing in relief when the girl didn't shrink away. "What I'm trying to say is...even if things don't look that way now, your friendship with Blake isn't going to break that easily. All you have to do is take a leap of faith."

Yang slowly nodded. "You...you're right..." she murmured, looking up. "I'll go talk to Blake right now. Thanks...Mom."

"You're welcome, Yang," Raven said, a slight smile appearing on her features. "Listen...after all of this is said and done...I'm going to be arranging a funeral for Qrow...and after that, I...I..." She bit her lip and sighed. "I hope...we can be family once more."

"...yeah," Yang agreed, looking down. "Dad really misses you..."

"Believe it or not, I miss him too," Raven admitted.

"Do you think...you'll come back home?"

"Only if you want me to."

Several moments passed, until Yang slowly turned around and walked away. Raven stared after her, a small sense of worry gathering. Then, Yang turned around, and gave a weak smile. "I'd like that," she whispered, before turning the corner and leaving.

...

 **Not much happening in this chapter, but things will start picking up again for our heroes! I really don't have anything to say other than I'm sorry this took so long... Also, _Logan_ destroyed me emotionally. Seriously, what a fucking great film. Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


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